Graduating and looking for a job? SLO County's record low unemployment is good news for you

San Luis Obispo County's unemployment rate in April was historically low, meaning graduating Cal Poly and Cuesta students can expect to walk into one of the best job markets in decades.

The 2.6 percent April rate was the lowest for San Luis Obispo County since the state began recording the county's unemployment in 1990. The former record-holding rate was 2.7 percent in October 1999.

Only 3,800 people reported they were unemployed in April, according to the California Employment Development Department, compared with 4,200 the month before and 4,800 in April 2017. That's out of a labor workforce of 142,500, which includes everyone working and looking for work.

The record low also was reflected around California and the country.

The California rate fell to 4.2 percent in April — the lowest since record-keeping began in 1976 — and at a national level, the United States reported an unemployment rate of 3.9 percent, its lowest since 2000.

So what does that mean for people looking for work?

"If you walk down Higuera Street, you're probably going to see a lot of 'Help Wanted' signs," said Robert Kleinhenz, executive director of research at Beacon Economics.

Kleinhenz said the low unemployment rate means businesses will have to be more competitive to attract workers, and could even have trouble filling positions.

This is good news for graduating college students hoping to enter the job market, or for those considering career switches.

"This should be a great time to be looking for a job," Kleinhenz said. "It's a workers' market right now."

Interestingly, a tight market like this would normally spur some nice wage growth, he said, because businesses have to sweeten the deal to attract candidates who have more options than in a saggier job market. That's not been the case locally and nationally, however.

Though there has been some wage growth — SLO County workers reported a 3.4 percent increase in average weekly wages in the first part of last year compared with the year before — it's not nearly what economists would usually expect at this point in a lengthy economic expansion.

And in SLO County, where high cost of living is always at the forefront of any economic discussion, lagging wages are a major concern.

San Luis Obispo County Economic Vitality Corporation Executive Director Michael Manchak said though low unemployment looks good, there are several other factors to a healthy local economy — including cost of living, wages and home ownership — that he feels the county lacks.

“The community, government and businesses should work together to address our region’s challenges through fostering more head of household jobs, new companies and a modest growth of companies here, more housing for workers and addressing overall competitiveness of the region and our local infrastructure to consider accommodating any growth," he wrote in an email to The Tribune. "All of this is even more important in light of the impacts from the closure of Diablo Canyon in six years. Our wonderful region can overcome any challenge if we focus on it.”

Also of concern is the fact that SLO County isn't adding workers at a rate that will be able to sustain long-term economic growth.

Between April 2017 and April 2018, the civilian labor force actually decreased by 0.6 percent. Month to month, it decreased 0.4 percent.

Eventually, this could restrict the economy, and leave it without enough workers to keep up economic growth, Kleinhenz said. This is also a major concern at the state level, he said.

For now though, Kleinhenz said he doesn't see the unemployment rate getting much lower.

"It is virtually impossible to get to zero," he said.

This story was originally published May 23, 2018 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Graduating and looking for a job? SLO County's record low unemployment is good news for you."