Stark divide in jobs puts House Dems in tough spot

Central Valley struggles as metropolitan areas prosper

The state’s latest employment figures are chock-full of good news for the Bay Area and Southern California, but bring more of the same dismal message to the Central Valley.

That could be worrisome for a pair of Democrats who swept into Congress in November on the nationwide blue wave and now have to show voters they can provide the local help that’s desperately needed.

Rep. T.J. Cox of Bakersfield finds his district at the very bottom of the state’s jobs well, with an 11 percent unemployment rate in February that was the highest of any of California’s 53 congressional districts. Rep. Josh Harder’s Modesto-area district is also hurting, at 6.8 percent. Both are much higher than California’s overall 4.2 percent.

They’re not alone, and it’s not just a Democratic problem. Of the 10 congressional districts with the highest unemployment rates, seven are in the Central Valley. They include the homes of Tulare Republican Rep. Devin Nunes at 8.6

percent and Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, the House GOP leader, at 8.2 percent.

It’s a simple fact of economic life in California, said Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, which produces a monthly report on the state’s employment figures.

“From the counties where you can’t see the ocean, it’s high unemployment and a completely different job picture” than along the coast, he said.

The new numbers reinforce that picture. Five Bay Area districts sport the state’s lowest unemployment numbers, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco district at 2.3 percent. The next five are all in coastal Southern California.

That’s great news for three Southern California Democrats who flipped GOP-held congressional seats in November. Reps. Mike Levin of Oceanside (San Diego County), Katie Porter of Irvine (Orange County) and Harley Rouda of Newport Beach (Orange County) all represent prosperous, jobheavy areas where the unemployment rate now is 2.8 percent or lower. That gives them one less thing to worry about in their 2020 re-election campaigns.

The geography of the jobs’ gap also shows up in the Legislature. The state’s lowest unemployment rates are seen in Democratic state Sen. Jerry Hill’s Peninsula district (2.1 percent) and in San Mateo Democratic Assemblyman Kevin Mullin’s (2.0 percent).

On the wrong end of the job scale? It’s a pair of Central Valley Democrats, state Sen. Melissa Hurtado of Sanger (Fresno County) at 12.2 percent and Assemblyman Rudy Salas of Bakersfield at 11.2 percent.

Something has to be done, said Harder, who ousted Republican Rep. Jeff Denham of Turlock (Stanislaus County) last fall.

“For too long the Central Valley has been left behind and our unemployment rate reflects that,” Harder said in an email. “Our community is full of some of the most dedicated employees in the country, we just need the job opportunities to prove it.”

While agriculture is still the employment king in the Central Valley, the region lacks the high-paying tech and financial industries of the Bay Area and coastal Southern California, There’s been little effort by the state to close that divide by bringing in higher-paying industries, Lapsley said.

“The gap is widening as we don’t get back manufacturing jobs,” he said. “The state is bringing in high-wage jobs and low-wage jobs, but we’re losing the middle-class jobs.”

Lapsley, whose organization is made up of large and midsize businesses looking to promote job growth, said he is encouraged by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s expressed interest in improving the Central Valley’s economy.

The governor seems to recognize that in a state with the size and diversity of California, economic support can’t be a one-size-fits-all choice, Lapsley said.

“Too often (Sacramento) doesn’t take into account regional differences,” Lapsley said. The Legislature “is making major statewide policy decisions based on the Bay Area economy.”

The Central Valley has individualized needs, and it’s up to its political leaders to see that they’re met, Harder said.

“When folks overlook the Central Valley they’re missing out, not just on one of the most beautiful places to live but one of the best places to start a business,” he said. “We need to promote the growth of small businesses here in the valley, and we need real investments in career and technical education so our workforce has the skills for the 21st century.”

John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth