As the unemployment rate in Santa Barbara County continues to improve, some industries are recovering more quickly than others, according to labor market data and local business leaders.
According to the Employment Development Department’s most recent data released on April 16, Santa Barbara County’s unemployment rate was 6.6 percent in March, an improvement from 7.2 percent in February. In January, the rate was 7.8, indicating that the county is seeing a consistent increase in employment so far in 2021. April data will be released on May 21.
While most industries saw employees return to the workforce in March, others stagnated. Construction, transportation, hospitality, government, and business services each gained 400 to 800 new employees in March, and agriculture increased by 2,200 workers.
However, information and financial activities saw no change. Educational and health services lost 100 employees.
And while many industries continue to inch their way back to pre-pandemic employment levels, few have fully recovered. Hospitality is still short 8,000 employees compared a year ago, government is short 5,500, and educational and health services 1,200. The only industries that meet or exceed pre-pandemic employment levels in the county are construction and business services.
“Throughout the pandemic there’s been this uneven impact,” Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Glenn Morris said. “Even in the depths of the pandemic, there were business categories, industries that were doing quite well. In the construction business and professional services, business kept moving.”
But for small retailers, restaurants, personal services, and entertainment, “they’ve got a hole to get out of,” Morris said.
“While they’re seeing improvement, there’s still a recognition that they’ve got a long ways to go to get back to where they really feel like they’re thriving,” he said.
The passage of the American Rescue Plan and the county’s recent move into the orange tier in the state’s reopening system are both good signs for local business, Morris said.
“The application window for the restaurant [revitalization] fund opened late last week … so I suspect once the wheel gets turning it will be helpful,” Morris said.
The American Rescue Plan’s restaurant fund “will provide restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location,” according to the Small Business Administration’s website. “Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023.”
Morris said the county’s orange tier move will help the hospitality and entertainment industries in particular.
“I think the local [movie theaters] are going to reopen in the middle of May, so that’s a positive step,” he said. “For a lot of the other businesses, they already have been open, but this allows them to accommodate more customers—just to offer a better experience.”
This article appears in May 6-13, 2021.