Friday, September 19, 2008

IE unemployment hits 9.2%

Unemployment in Riverside and San Bernardino counties climbed to 9.2 percent in August, up from a revised 9 percent the month before, the state reported this morning.

There were 166,500 unemployed workers in the Inland Empire last month, compared to 114,500 in august 2007.

There are 25,000 fewer jobs in Inland Southern California than there were 12 months ago, according to the state Employment Development Department. Construction hiring is off more than 13 percent, but almost every sector of the region's economy has scaled back its hiring.

6 comments:

Rob Dawg said...

Buses headed south are gonna be full by Christmas. You'll know things are really bad when illegals report themselves to get a free ride home.

Sara said...

Is it true that businesses are closing in Eastvale and other areas? Do you think it will deteriorate when all is said and done?

golfer_X said...

Yes, businesses are closing in Eastvale and everywhere else too. This is similar to what happened in the early 90's in that respect. Then it was Aerospace layoffs that lead to spending cutbacks and foreclosures. This time it is housing that is the root cause. The result though is the same. Lots of people out of work and those that are still working are worried so they don't spend any more than they have to. This means retail will have a tough time and especially discretionary retail stores like hobbies, sporting goods, high end clothing etc. Restaurants don't tend to do well in these conditions either. The early/mid 90's is when the Hometown Buffet style became popular. Expect to see some of the high end chain places close. I think the Citrus City Grill will be one of the first to go. Circuit City is on the verge, Linens and things are already gone so are Wickes and Levits. There will a lot of retail stores closing in the next two or three years.

Sara said...

Golfer_x,
Thanks for the info!

Unknown said...

So far in Eastvale Linen's n Things has closed, however pretty much all of them are closing.

Two coffee shops (Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and It's a Grind), like we needed 3 coffee shops on each corner!

A Juice it Up. Same as the coffee shop situation. There is a juice shop in every shopping center! Like that is needed!

And a small teenager clothing store. Once Tilly's opened up, there was no way this store could remain open. I'm surprised it remained open this long.

We'll see how many additional stores will close. While the shopping centers still appear to be busy in Eastvale, I can't say the same for that Dos Lagos center. That place is eerily empty.

Sara said...

I know who needs juice places. But that the shopping centers still seem busy is a good sign. I'm planning on buying something in a year or so in Eastvale. I just hope it doesn't become a ghost town. It's the only affordable place that I've found within 25 miles from OC.