GILROY
– A housekeeper named Maria, a laborer named KJ and a Gilroy
City Councilman named Craig all have something in common. Each is a
victim of Gilroy’s mountainous unemployment rate which continues to
rank with the worst in the nation and cast a dark shadow on the
city’s social and economic livelihood
.
GILROY – A housekeeper named Maria, a laborer named KJ and a Gilroy City Councilman named Craig all have something in common. Each is a victim of Gilroy’s mountainous unemployment rate which continues to rank with the worst in the nation and cast a dark shadow on the city’s social and economic livelihood.
According to new California Department of Labor statistics released Friday, 13 percent of the Garlic City’s workforce was unemployed in May. That’s by far the highest average of the county’s 14 cities, weighing in at a hefty 5 percentage points above the county average of 8 percent for the same month.
And although Gilroy’s May unemployment rate followed that of other county cities by contracting from 13.4 percent in April and 13.6 percent in March, many local job seekers are finding it harder than ever to get a foot in the door – anywhere.
“The economy had looked like it was getting better this fall and winter, but then it just shut off come spring,” said City Councilman Craig Gartman, who in January 2002 was laid off from his programing manager job at Nortel Networks in Santa Clara. Since then, Gartman has been substitute teaching and working at Hobby World. Gartman now works seven days a week, although he’s earning only one-fourth of his former tech-job salary.
“When I drive around my (Northwest Quad) neighborhood in the daytime I see a lot of men walking their dogs and doing yard work who I knew were working before,” said Gartman, who recently finished refinancing his home. “It’s a hard time for everyone, and I don’t think it’s going to get better too soon.”
Truth in numbers
Gilroy traditionally holds the highest unemployment rate in the county due to its demographics, geographical isolation and comparatively large pool of seasonal agriculture labor, and May’s unemployment statistics highlight those differences between Gilroy and its county brethren.
For example, Morgan Hill’s May unemployment rate was 6.3 percent, down from 6.6 percent in April. San Jose’s unemployment rate – the second highest in the county – dropped from 9.7 percent in April to 9.4 percent in May. Palo Alto retained the lowest rate in the county, decreasing from 4.3 percent in April to 4.2 percent in May, and the county average fell from 8.3 percent in April to an even 8 percent in May.
Although it’s in San Benito County, Hollister’s demographics are more similar to Gilroy’s than most Santa Clara County cities. It recorded a 12.6 percent unemployment rate in May – a steep fall from April’s 13.9 percent.
Gilroy’s 13 percent May unemployment rate groups it with the following cities: Salinas, Watsonville-Santa Cruz, Merced, Modesto, Fresno and Stockton, all of which are included on the U.S. Bureau of Labor’s “20 Worst” unemployment rates list among all United States metropolitan areas.
“We’re still feeling the tech bubble burst,” said Bill Lindsteadt, executive director of the Gilroy Economic Development Corporation. “Things like these take a long time to fix. I remember two years ago you couldn’t find a parking space at the (Caltrain) depot in the morning because of all the commuters. Now you have your pick of spots.”
Help Not Wanted
Blue collar construction workers, white collar computer programers and everyone in between is learning how hard it is to find a job in Gilroy, according to Graciela Ramirez, the service coordinator at St. Joseph’s Family Center, 7950 Church St.
Ramirez and her mostly volunteer workforce at St. Joseph’s help provide food, rental assistance, bill payment help and transportation to low-income and unemployed Gilroy and San Martin residents.
Ramirez said throughout May and now into June St. Joseph’s has been the busiest she can remember in her two years at the organization, and she blames it on the difficulties people are experiencing trying to find employment.
A shrinking demand for field workers and construction laborers are two of the main reasons so many Gilroy families are struggling. Nearly every job market is saturated with too many applications and not enough openings, Ramirez said.
“We’ve definitely seen a big rise in families using our resources,” said Ramirez, noting that St. Joseph’s rental and bill assistance funds will remain drained until the new fiscal year which starts July 1 due to the heavy demand. “The agriculture business just isn’t here anymore like it use to be, and people looking for work in the fields are stuck with no job. We’ve had families come in for help who never imagined they would be here. They’re in tears, making promises to pay us back.”
Maria Angelica Avina went to St. Joseph’s on Thursday afternoon to get food for her family.
Avina was laid off from her house cleaning job in January, and has been looking for work ever since – without success.
“I’ve tried fast food places, Christopher Ranch – everywhere possible,” Avina said in Spanish. She currently shares a two-bedroom Gilroy apartment with her sister, brother-in-law, husband and 2-year-old daughter. “We’ve been in Gilroy three years, but it’s never been this hard. I give them an application and they say they’ll call, but they never do.”
And even when employers do return calls, the jobless can’t secure enough work to support themselves, Ramirez said.
San Martin couple KJ Jenkins and Lois Johnson know that dilemma first hand.
“I’ve worked through temporary agencies all of my life, and I’m qualified so I usually get to pick my position,” said Johnson, who made her first trip to St. Joseph’s on Thursday because her family finished its last loaf of bread the night before. “Now I don’t even get one call back, and when I do they only want me to work for a couple of hours. … It’s scary not knowing how you’re going to feed your kids dinner.”
Economic forecasts
There is optimistic news for some of Gilroy’s 2,229 unemployed.
Two super shopping centers supporting myriad new retail stores and eateries are scheduled to be completed on the east side of Gilroy by 2004.
A Super Target planned for one of the shopping centers near U.S. 101 and Highway 152 projected to bring 200 jobs will be open for business by October, and by the time the two retail centers are complete, more than 2,000 jobs will be added to the area, Lindsteadt said.
“We already have people asking us where to get applications for the new jobs coming in,” said Denise Ceballos, the site-manager of Gilroy’s Employment Development Department, 190 Leavesley Road.
“It’s encouraging to have these business coming, but we still have a major lack of labor and technology sector jobs right now.”
Gartman’s view from the trenches of the job-hunting field is a bit more pessimistic. He has been interviewed for at least five high-tech jobs in Silicon Valley since he was laid off, and each time he’s been told he was overqualified.
Large companies are looking to hire people with little experience in order to keep the payroll down, showing a lack of confidence in the economic recovery process, Gartman said.
“The bottom line is that companies are scared to expand right now,” said Gartman, who supplements his substitute teaching income and Hobby World income by earning $672 a month for being one of Gilroy’s seven City Councilmen. “And when they do end up expanding, from what I hear, it won’t be in California because the economic climate is too shattered right now.
“This is hard on everyone, and it’s too hard to guess when this cycle will end.”
To make a donation to St. Joseph’s Family Center, call 842-6662.
