Citrus County Jobs

Farm Jobs Lost? Blame Environmentalists! (Or Not.)

The Pacific Institute, one of the premier research organizations on water issues, has undermined the conventional wisdom in California’s Central Valley with its latest report.

Farmers and most other residents in the state’s breadbasket blame environmentalism run amok for forcing them to leave fields unplanted when the water they hoped for was diverted to benefit the endangered ecosystem of the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta. But the institute’s report, based on an extensive analysis of federal and state data as well as the records of water districts, argues that environmental constraints played at best a minor role in water shortages and rural unemployment.

If any single factor is to blame for rural unemployment, the analysis concludes, it is the collapse of the construction industry, which was crucial to the state’s booming growth in the early 2000s. The report noted that “strong demand for California farm products on national and global markets also kept both crop prices and revenue high throughout the drought.” The industries that suffered disproportionate harm from the drought, the report said, were hydropower and salmon fishing, not agriculture.

That’s not the explanation that the Fox News commentator Sean Hannity offered for the Central Valley’s troubles two years ago, when the photograph above was taken. In 2009, fallow fields sprouted signs reading “Congress-Created Dust Bowl” — an apparent reference to congressional support for the Endangered Species Act, one of the laws involved in curtailing water supplies from the federal Central Valley Project.

But the report notes that in two of the drought years, 2008 and 2009, California’s crops brought record high revenues. And while some Central Valley counties, particularly in the southern portions of the valley, suffered significant declines in crops like citrus fruits, overall unemployment in the agricultural sector rose in lockstep with — or even a bit more slowly than — unemployment in other sectors.

To borrow from James Carville’s old maxim, the report’s basic message was, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Or at least not environmentalism.

The drought, of course, was real and severe, even if it didn’t match its two immediate predecessors in the 1970s and 1980s. Precipitation from 2007 through 2009 was 25 percent below normal, and stream flows were 40 percent below average. Farmers pumped groundwater to make up the difference.

January Unemployment Number Released | Business | News

The January numbers are out and Citrus County’s unemployment rate climbs again, even though Florida sees a slightly lower number.

TALLAHASSEE – Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in January 2011 is 11.9 percent, down slightly from the December 2010 rate of 12.0 percent. This represents 1,100,000 jobless out of a labor force of 9,276,000. Florida’s total nonagricultural employment in January 2011 is 7,164,700, a decline of 12,900 jobs (-0.2 percent) from December 2010. Over the year, jobs are up by 8,400, an increase of 0.1 percent from January 2010.

“While Florida’s unemployment rate is still unacceptably high, we are seeing positive signs that employers are starting to hire,” said Agency for Workforce Innovation Director Cynthia R. Lorenzo. “An increase in online advertisements for full-time jobs coupled with an increase in Florida’s Consumer Confidence Index indicates that our business owners and families are increasingly optimistic about Florida’s economic recovery. As Governor Scott moves forward with his bold probusiness agenda, that optimism will continue.”

Citrus County’s unemployment rate for the month of January is 13.3%. Out of a total labor force of 57,856 people 7,672 are unemployed. December 2010 Citrus had a workforce of 58,093 with 7,468 people unemployed, translating to a 12.9% rate. January 2010 was higher though with a 13.6 percent unemployment rate.

Florida’s Consumer Confidence Index for February remained steady at 77 as reported by the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research, unchanged from the January rate and maintaining the significant improvement over the past three years. More Floridians now feel it is a good time to buy big-ticket items, and Floridians’ perceptions of the U.S. economy over the next year also improved slightly. Factors contributing to Floridians’ confidence include an upward trend in the stock market, a steady increase in wages and several companies announcing intentions to hire more employees.

Local Area Unemployment Statistics (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In January 2011, Liberty and Monroe counties have the state’s lowest unemployment rate (7.6 percent each), followed by Alachua County (8.6 percent), Wakulla County (8.7 percent), Leon County (8.8 percent), and Okaloosa County (8.9 percent). Most of the counties with the lowest unemployment rates are those with relatively high proportions of government employment.

Citrus County

Citrus County

People and jobs for Citrus County, a survey of the Citrus County labor force

Water-supply paper

African American Sites in Florida