APRIL JOBLESS RATE LOWEST SINCE 1990 IN VENTURA COUNTY.

Byline: Terry Kanakri Daily News Staff Writer

Unemployment in Ventura County fell to 5.9 percent in April, the lowest rate for the month since 1990, officials said Friday.

County employers created 3,400 new jobs during the year, allowing more people to find work in the improving economy, according to the state Employment Development Department.

The decline was 0.4 percent lower than the March rate of 6.3 percent and 0.3 percent lower than April 1995's 6.2 percent. The number of jobless residents declined from 24,200 to 22,300.

Officials said the 5.9 percent jobless rate was the lowest for the month of April since 1990, when April unemployment was 4.1 percent. The month-to-month decline also was the third consecutive decrease this year.

``The recent drop just confirms that the economy is improving and the improvement has not been a temporary one,'' said Ali Akbari, director of the Economic Research Center at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. ``Now, employers will be convinced that the positive changes are likely to stay. And for that reason, I'd expect them to start hiring more.''

Nonfarm employment remained steady since March at 240,900, but growth was reported in several sectors, including construction, which increased by 700 jobs. Wholesale trade and government each experienced a gain of 200 jobs, according to the EDD report.

The gains were offset by losses in manufacturing, transportation and public utilities, retail trade, services and the finance, insurance and real estate sector.

Ventura County added 3,400 jobs from April 1995 to April 1996, with the only year-to-year loss experienced by the mining sector.

``It's a good sign in that there are more people working,'' said Margaret Platt, a labor market analyst with the EDD.

High-technology manufacturing jobs totaled 10,000 in April 1996, down 100 from March, but up 300 from April 1995. Farm employment in April was 20,800, up from 19,000 in March, but down from 21,800 in April 1995.

Akbari said the area's economy will continue to grow as long as interest rates remain low and inflation is under control. He cautioned that although the economy continues to improve, there is still one unanswered question.

``The question is what type of jobs have been created?'' he asked. ``Are they more hamburger flipper, parking attendant and other service-oriented jobs, or are they more high-tech, high-paying jobs? A lot of these jobs are kind of service oriented (and) less paying.''

Unemployment declined in each of the county's 10 cities and dropped from 8.3 percent in March to 8.2 percent in Los Angeles County. Statewide, unemployment stood at 7.3 percent in April, down from 7.8 percent in March. Nationwide, it declined from 5.8 to 5.4 percent.

Locally, Simi Valley reported an April jobless rate of 5.1 percent, Thousand Oaks 4.9 percent, Moorpark 4.4 percent and Camarillo 4.6 percent.

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