5 thoughts on “San Marcos unemployment falls slightly — 5.0 percent”

1. Unemployment numbers are comprised of those that are in the job market for the past 30 days. It does not include those that have not been in the job market in the last 30 days: people who have given up looking; those that have gone off unemployment because it has run out. One solution to unemployment is High Speed Universities check it out

2. I’m not a statistician, nor do I play one on TV, but the fact that unemployment rates don’t reflect underemployed workers or those whose benefits have run out is true everywhere. So on a relative scale, it would seem San Marcos’ unemployment rate is good. In fact, on a national scale, 5 percent unemployment is considered “full employment.”

   HOWEVER, this town’s employment base is largely retail, restaurant and other service businesses that don’t pay career wages, so a 5 percent rate may not be as fantastic as one might hope.

   We have a neighbor who is a production operations manager with a degree from MIT. He had to take a job in San Antonio after 18 months of looking. There just aren’t those kinds of jobs here. Had he not found that job, he’d probably be folding sweaters at The Gap.

3. Agreed.

   I don’t really get why the Mercury continues to publish these releases, without taking the time to actually dig in and get the real story re: our economy.

4. I don’t begrudge the Mercury for running this story as is. While a hard and realistic look at the actual job market here in town is more than welcome, it’s not something you can tack onto the unemployment rate report every month.

   But it would be interesting to see an overview of the employment situation here, including how many people are employed full time and by what type of employer, along with the same information on part-time work. And how much all these folks make.

5. I don’t think it needs to be tacked on every month, but it would certainly make for a compelling story, about one of our most pressing issues.