You know there's something amiss when the Employment Development Department feels the need to subtitle the month's unemployment
statistics report "Total jobs saw its 15th consecutive month of losses on a year-over basis." In bold. Italicized. And underlined.
Yes, Virginia, things are not looking up.
The unemployment rate in San Francisco, Marin and Redwood counties (which is the metropolitan division S.F. is lumped into) was 9.2 percent in November, down from 9.4 percent in October. The good-news-that-isn't-really-good-news? San Francisco's unemployment rate is down, from 9.9 to 9.7. Wave your hands in the air, 0.2 percent of people who have found jobs. Wave them like you just don't care. Of course, San Mateo's is is 8.9 percent and Marin's is a mere 8.0, but who ever gained anything from
comparing themselves from others?
So, where did we lose all these jobs? Professional and business services lost 1,400. Buh bye. Construction lost 400, but that's a seasonal loss that's held steady for 19 years. Meanwhile, leisure and hospitality lost 300 jobs, which is actually less than usually lost during this time of year. And due to the holiday shopping season, retail jobs swelled by 16,000. Which just goes to show, no matter how much your life sucks, you can always get a job tending to those more fortunate than you.
How are the kids across the bridge doing? Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, which encompass the Oakland-Fremont-Hayward metropolitan division, have an unemployment rate of 11.2 percent each.
What was that thing about comparing yourself to others?
