Berkeley’s unemployment numbers were lower than those of Alameda County and the state, a distinction made possible by high numbers of college graduates in the city, according to a recent city report.
According to the city’s quarterly economic development report released Tuesday, Berkeley’s 7.8 percent unemployment rate remains lower than Alameda County’s 8.2 percent and the state’s 9.7 percent as of December 2012. In the previous year, the unemployment rate in Berkeley was 8.9 percent. In Berkeley, about 69 percent of the population above 25 years old has a bachelor’s degree or higher.
“More employers are looking for educated workers,” said economic development manager Michael Caplan. “Industries that are growing in the region tend to be knowledge-based … people who have less education have a harder time finding a job.”
Growth in certain sectors, such as research and technology, has increased demand for a more highly educated and trained workforce, Councilmember Jesse Arreguin added.
Between 2007 and 2011, unemployment rates in Berkeley were 3.9 percent for those with college degrees ages 25 to 64, 14.6 percent for those with a high school education and 19.5 for those without high school or college diplomas, the report states.
In comparison, in the neighboring city of Oakland, about 37.2 percent of people older than 25 have a Bachelor’s degree or higher, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Berkeley’s 7.8 percent unemployment rate is the lowest since the peak of 11.3 percent in March 2010 in the tailwind of the global economic crisis. Yet, even at its peak levels, Berkeley’s unemployment rate has historically remained lower than both that of Alameda County and of California.
According to Councilmember Gordon Wozniak, one of the reasons is that the university is a major employer, and the jobs provided are less dependent on fluctuating economic cycles.
Despite the steady decline, council members agreed at the City Council meeting that the number is still high and that more work needs to be done.
“It’s falling, but it’s still pretty high,” Wozniak said. “How do we get back the employment to 10 years ago when it was 10 percent higher?”
Between 2001 and 2012, the number of jobs decreased from 66,616 to 60,165, the report states. However, over the years, the number of self-employed people in the city has increased from 6,733 in 1990 to 8,618 in 2010, Arreguin said.
Berkeley City Council will be looking into various solutions, such as improving early education for children to make sure they continue pursuing higher education, according to Councilmember Kriss Worthington. These issues will be further discussed in May when the next quarterly report is compiled, Caplan added.
Daphne Chen is the lead city government reporter. Contact her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @dchen_dc.