A local economist says the region’s high dependence on construction jobs had made this recession unusually rough for San Diego. KPBS reporter Katie Orr explains.
University of San Diego economist Ryan Ratcliff says in past recessions, the San Diego area has usually faired better than the state. He says the more highly educated workforce and mix of industries has insulated the region from higher unemployment rates. But that’s not the case this time.
Ratcliff: You’ve lived through the couple of recessions, you’re used to, sort of, San Diego being, you know, it’s a slow down, but not as bad as the rest of the state and the rest of the country. And I think this time around it’s just gonna be different in that San Diego was overly reliant on housing as an engine of growth in the last five years. And unfortunately, now we’re going to pay for that.
Ratcliff says some construction jobs could come back, but he doesn’t expected related housing industry jobs to return.
Katie Orr, KPBS New
