At 12.4%, California has the third highest unemployment rate in the nation and, according to a report released last week by the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy, this high unemployment rate is tied to real estate.  California had a disproportionately high number of jobs connected to real estate, so when the housing bubble burst, there were higher job losses in California than in the rest of the nation.  For example, nationally, jobs in construction have only declined by 25%, but here in California, they have decreased by 33%.   This trend was also seen for positions in other real estate related jobs in areas like the mortgage industry and furniture sales.  When it comes to industries not related to real estate, California has suffered fewer job losses than the national average, most notably in manufacturing.  According to Steven Levy, who runs the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy, this could mean that once the housing market stabilizes, California could make a solid recovery.  He says, “Unlike in the aerospace or dot.com recessions, the state’s economic base did not experience any losses that are likely to persist over time.”  Unfortunately, it could be a long time before the real estate industry recovers.  After the recession in the early 1990s, it took seven years for construction in California to recover.  Levy says that the housing market will eventually recover though because California is expected to add between 400,000 and 500,000 residents annually over the next 10 years.  This is great news for San Diego, since our housing market has been stabilizing faster than the rest of the country. 
 
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