Sign of Things to Come: 10 % Unemployment in Southern California Inland Empire

The Inland Empire is a region in Southern California east of Orange County and Los Angeles, and consists of such cities as San Bernardino, Riverside, and Ontario. This area has long been a growing region but the current recession has become a depression with unemployment nearing 10 % and forecasted to be near 13 % in the coming months of 2009. Of course, real unemployment will be actually be around 20 % to 25 % in this area which has long been blessed with economic vitality and prosperity.
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One shudders when one thinks that this may be the future in many, if not most places, in the coming six months to a year. It is easy to imagine it becoming widespread.
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The incoming Obama administration faces dire economic circumstances nationally. Hopefully the new administration will be as successful as the new Reagan administration was in 1981 in turning things around, but it will be a daunting and overwhelming challenge requiring a different approach and tactics. The Reagan experience took until late in 1982 to mid 1983 to get things fully reversed. If that time frame is repeated, we may looking at sometime in 2011 before an improvement becomes steady. And most observers and analysts feel this economic downturn and recession is going to be far, far worse and longer lasting than the one in the early 1980s. That may push the window for visible and noticeable improvement out beyond Summer 2011...
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http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-nojobs22-2008nov22,0,7791795.story
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