Over the past few years the economy in California has had many events which have caused it to slow down dramatically, resulting in more people losing their jobs across the state. It is estimated that approximately 1.5 million workers by November of 2009 have lost jobs, which represents roughly 10% of the overall workforce in California. These reports from the Employment Development Department also indicated that a year ago there were 911,000 part-time workers, who would typically be full-time workers. Almost everyone that the EED is tracking is working part-time because the economy is struggling. As the economy slowed down many consumers became more thoughtful of what they were buying, which led to a reduction in demand for many goods and services. Without a constant demand of goods, many employers have difficulty keeping people on full time because of the roller coaster nature of business at this time.
Not all view part-time work as a bad thing as it allows them time to look for a better full time job, or time to enroll in a California college to further their education. With flexible online schedules, students have an easy time taking classes while working part-time. Governor Schwarzenegger has vowed to make jobs a top priority while in office, but with all of the economic troubles it has been hard to make positive progress. The Governor is also working to make California colleges and universities a priority which many believe is key to long term economic growth. 2010 is already shaping up to be an interesting year for higher education, jobs, and the economy in California.
