KERN COUNTY'S ECONOMY ON UPSWING CONSUMER CONFIDENCE UP; REGION'S JOBLESS RATE INCREASES 1.5 PERCENT.Byline: Daily News ROSAMOND -- Kern Kern, river, 155 mi (249 km) long, rising in the S Sierra Nevada Mts., E Calif., and flowing south, then southwest to a reservoir in the extreme southern part of the San Joaquin valley. The river has Isabella Dam as its chief facility. County's economy continued to improve in the first quarter of 2006, although some economic indicators Economic indicators The key statistics of the economy that reveal the direction the economy is heading in; for example, the unemployment rate and the inflation rate. softened during the quarter, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the latest issue of the Kern Economic Journal, published by California State University, Bakersfield As of fall 2002, some 7,700 undergraduate and graduate students attended CSUB, at either the main campus in Bakersfield or the satellite campus, Antelope Valley Center in Lancaster, California of Los Angeles County. . Kern County's economy expanded at a 2.4 percent annual rate, adding $90 million of personal income, with personal income per worker increasing $480, said Abbas Grammy, professor of applied economics at CSUB CSUB California State University, Bakersfield CSUB WESTPAC Fleet Submarine Broadcast CSUB California State University Band and publisher of the Kern Economic Journal. On the plus side, county consumer confidence increased 2 percentage points. ``This means local households conveyed greater confidence in their financial conditions during the first quarter,'' Grammy said. However, the county's jobless rate during the quarter increased 1.5 percent, to a quarterly figure of 8.8 percent. Bakersfield's rate crept up 0.7 percent, to 6.2 percent. Other county unemployment figures below the county average include Ridgecrest at 5.0 percent, Tehachapi at 5.9 percent, and Taft at 8.6 percent. The traditional pockets of high unemployment continued, with Arvin posting 24.5 percent unemployment, Delano at 23.7, McFarland at 19.0 and Lamont at 16.2. The Kern County Business Outlook Survey showed employers continued to be optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op about local economic conditions, though the index declined three points from the previous quarter to 137. ``That's still in the optimistic range,'' Grammy said. Grammy said he continued to be encouraged by the county's economic strength because the jobless rate remained in single digits. The last time the county's unemployment rate was in double digits Double Digits was a pricing game on the American television game show, The Price Is Right. Played from April 20, 1973 through May 18, 1973's show, it was played for a car and used small prizes. was the fourth quarter 2004. ``Historically Kern County's unemployment rate has been in double digits, so to have five quarters in a row in single digits indicates a major shift in the county's economic fundamentals,'' he said. Historically, the first quarter has had the highest farm jobless rate, Grammy said, adding that he anticipates the next several months should see greater employment in the farm sector as crop harvest gets into high gear. Indicative of the major shift in county economic fundamentals is the fact that the county added nearly 4,000 jobs in the nonfarm sector during the first quarter. ``That signals real strength,'' he said. |
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