The national unemployment rate dropped again to below 10%, however valley cities still see higher rates that aren't dropping as fast as the national average. The national average could be skewed a bit as well, because people may not be filing for unemployment benefits after they expire or run out. Many people have still been looking for a job for a long time, especially the under skilled and under educated Californians.
While the worst seems to behind many companies and the economy, many workers still are having trouble finding work. Some people have become frustrated finding new positions, or they simply have adjusted to living on a lower budget. The Valley offers some good education opportunities on a low budget, most notably Delta Community College in Stockton and Modesto Junior College in Modesto, CA. These junior colleges offer a wide range of classes at little to no cost to anyone in the community willing to apply. Many students have taken advantage of the classes during this time when they can't find regular work. Valley employers are going to be interested to see what potential employees did during the tough economic times of 2008 until today. If you show no effort in developing your education or finding temporary work - other candidates that did will get opportunities.
The fact that the unemployment numbers are going down doesn't mean that jobs of all kinds are going to be steadily coming onto the job market. Mid-size and small companies are looking for more talented workers, who are expected to work longer and do more on the job. Many companies are running lean operations, leading to people doing multiple jobs usually handled by more employees. There is no guarantee that these companies will hire at the 'low-skill' or part time level. Its possible that the job pool remains high enough that over educated and over qualified people are still applying to low level part time positions in Stockton, Modesto, Merced, Tracy and all the smaller cities in the 209 valley, therefore leading the under educated to less job opportunities than in years past.
When times are tough like they are now, people often take jobs that are 'below' them under normal economic situations. Working at fast food places like McDonalds or Pizza Hut weren't the first choice of many people unemployed, but if you have been out of work for months its your only option. The bottom line for Valley residents is that part time and low skill jobs will be tough to find even when the economy is starting to make comebacks in 2011. Most jobs draw 50+ applicants, where some are often over qualified and this trend doesn't seem to be slowing down. The amount of people graduating from college and junior college still remains high, so its important to understand that you will need to compete with an even more educated and more motivated employee to get the jobs you want.
Smaller towns in the valley will have some temporary positions, as the local economy doesn't lead to higher tech (higher paying) positions. There are some small businesses in Turlock that are hiring and even places in Lodi CA that are hiring because these local communities still have some people taking advantage of the reduced competition in the marketplace. Larger valley cities like Stockton CA has companies hiring at a higher education level because of the size of the population and the fact that University of the Pacific and Delta College has been producing graduates that stimulate the area for decades. The breadth of jobs available will be larger in Modesto, Stockton, Tracy and Merced - just based on the population size and needs. However, remember that often leads to a higher cost of living compared to other smaller towns because of the options that are available to the consumers. You might make more money in Stockton, but you'll probably spend less if you lived in Lodi ... but that's probably debatable.
Bottom line is that people are still graduating from school at the same rates or higher than before the economy when into a tailspin in 2008. With all those jobs lost - most are going to be filled by educated individuals for many years before people with just a high-school diploma or less will be able to find work on a regular basis. If you haven't taken any college level courses, or haven't thought about it, now is the time.
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