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Unemployment Spikes On Central, South Coasts Due To Coronavirus; Biggest Hike Statewide Since 1976

Just released unemployment figures show how hard the coronavirus crisis is hitting the state’s economy, with the largest hike since 1976.  The jobless rate went from a record low of 3.9% in February to 5.3% in March.

The numbers are expected to continue to grow in April.

The Central and South Coasts are reflecting the statewide trend. 

The jobless rate in Ventura County went from 3.7% in February to 4.6% in March.  Santa Barbara County’s unemployment figure increased by a full percent from month to month, going from 4.6% to 5.6%.  And, San Luis Obispo County’s jobless rate went from 3% in February to 3.8% in March.

Two thirds of the job losses reported statewide in March were in the leisure and restuarant industries.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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