The 20 Toughest Job Markets in Northern California
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#20: Modesto (Stanislaus)
Labor force: 103,267
Unemployed: 13,867
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 58%
Unemployment rate: 13.4%
Notes: The construction industry in Modesto has been hit harder than most by a huge drop in housing starts.
Above: 21-year-old Modesto resident Andrew Randhawa leaves Chefs of New York in Modesto after submitting his resume for part-time work. -
#19: South Lake Tahoe (El Dorado)
Labor force: 15,733
Unemployed: 2,167
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 69%
Unemployment rate: 13.7%
Notes: Recreation and tourism are the biggest employers here; folks aren't vacationing as much.
Above: Paddle boats sit idle in South Lake Tahoe during a previous slump. -
#18: Oakland (Alameda)
Labor force: 202,267
Unemployed: 28,683
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 87%
Unemployment rate: 13.9%
Notes: Oakland continues to struggle with high poverty and crime.
Above: A job seeker looks at listings at the East Bay Works One-Stop Career Center in Oakland. -
#17: Gilroy (Santa Clara)
Labor force: 21,567
Unemployed: 3,000
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 96%
Unemployment rate: 13.9%
Notes: The hard-hit industries of manufacturing and retail trade are big here.
Above: Downtown Gilroy. (Credit: Wikipedia Commons/No Sales) -
#16: Pittsburg (Contra Costa)
Labor force: 30,900
Unemployed: 4,317
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 74%
Unemployment rate: 14.0%
Notes: Another town that grew rapidly during the housing boom, and is now struggling.
Above: A worker leaves the keg storage building of the Pittsburg Brewing Co. after his work day at the plant in Pittsburg. -
#15: Fresno (Fresno)
Labor force: 233,133
Unemployed: 32,800
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 55%
Unemployment rate: 14.1%
Notes: Fresno has long suffered one of the highest poverty rates among large cities in California.
Above: Patty VanderDussen and Cheryl Cervantes stand on the corner of Blackstone and Shaw in Fresno holding signs asking for a "career makeover" and an "office job." -
#14: Richmond (Contra Costa)
Labor force: 53,867
Unemployed: 7,700
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 74%
Unemployment rate: 14.3%
Notes: Among large California cities, only Oakland has a higher violent crime rate.
Above: Aerial view of Richmond. (Credit: Wikipedia Commons/No Sales). -
#13: Galt (Sacramento)
Labor force: 10,883
Unemployed: 1,683
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 74%
Unemployment rate: 15.3%
Notes: Like several other places, Galt's labor force grew even as jobs disappeared during the last year.
Above: Downtown Galt. -
#12: Hollister (San Benito)
Labor force: 17,133
Unemployed: 2,683
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 56%
Unemployment rate: 15.7%
Notes: Another town that used to rely heavily on manufacturing jobs.
Above: Bikers cruise through downtown Hollister during a rally.
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#10: East Palo Alto (San Mateo)
Labor force: 13,600
Unemployed: 2,283
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 85%
Unemployment rate: 16.8%
Notes: Historically has struggled with a much higher poverty rate than some of its neighbors.
Above: Ravenswood shopping center in East Palo Alto. -
#9: Merced (Merced)
Labor force: 31,533
Unemployed: 5,567
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 50%
Unemployment rate: 17.6%
Notes: Another Central Valley housing bust casualty.
Above: David Kerner of Merced searches for work at a local Worknet office. -
#8: San Pablo (Contra Costa)
Labor force: 14,183
Unemployed: 2,517
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 76%
Unemployment rate: 17.6%
Notes: This town has a high percentage of residents without college degrees -- a recipe for job cuts in this market.
Above: The gaming room at San Pablo's popular casino. -
#7: Stockton (San Joaquin)
Labor force: 128,483
Unemployed: 22,667
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 60%
Unemployment rate: 17.7%
Notes: Multiple national media organizations have parachuted into Stockton to do the Town Hardest Hit by Foreclosures story.
Above: Undocumented workers wait for day labor jobs in Stockton. -
#6: Atwater (Merced)
Labor force: 12,517
Unemployed: 2,267
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 49%
Unemployment rate: 18.1%
Notes: Atwater has struggled with high unemployment for years; it actually has not seen as big an increase in lost jobs as many other places.
Above: A water tower overlooks Atwater. (Credit: Wikipedia Commons/No Sales) -
#5: Madera (Madera)
Labor force: 24,700
Unemployed: 4,567
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 55%
Unemployment rate: 18.5%
Notes: A lot of this farming town's problems are cyclical, but close to one in five local jobseekers can't find work.
Above: Flor Ceja works with 3-year olds at an Early Childhood Education Center in Madera that was temporarily closed during the recent budget crisis. -
#3: Yuba City (Sutter)
Labor force: 20,233
Unemployed: 3,917
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 52%
Unemployment rate: 19.2%
Notes: In just three years, the median home price here has dropped 53 percent.
Above: Yuba City sign near Highway 99. (Credit: Wikipedia Commons/No Sales) -
#2: Ceres (Stanislaus)
Labor force: 18,967
Unemployed: 3,667
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 59%
Unemployment rate: 19.2%
Notes: On the outskirts of Modesto, this town had a higher proportion of its work force in manufacturing a decade ago than any other place on this list.
Above: Jennifer Honeycutt of Ceres attends a job fair at the Stanislaus County fairgrounds last year. -
#1: Watsonville (Santa Cruz)
Labor force: 17,900
Unemployed: 5,667
Year-to-year unemployment growth: 60%
Unemployment rate: 24.0%
Notes: By far, the biggest employers here are agriculture, manufacturing and retail trade. The first suffers seasonal dips, the last two are struggling mightily.
Above: A farm just outside Watsonville. (Credit: Flikr user clatiek under a Creative Commons license/No Sales)
