Redding Chamber Of Commerce: Jake's Takes

Press release from the Redding Chamber of Commerce:

April 15, 2021

Just this week, Wendy Zanotelli, Executive Director of the SMART Workforce Center, shared a couple graphs with me, which show that while Shasta County’s unemployment rate has followed the statewide trend throughout the COVID crisis, it has been LOWER than that of the state every month since April of 2020.

Why is more of our local workforce still employed? I think there are many possible explanations. To keep it simple, I will pinpoint three that come to my mind.

1) Our COVID numbers have been relatively low. Yes, we did dive into the most restrictive, purple tier at one time, but overall, our more naturally socially distant lifestyle that comes with lower population density, has helped Shasta County avoid longer periods of shutdowns.

As I enjoyed a family dinner INDOORS at Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant over the weekend, I couldn’t help but be grateful to live in Shasta County, where the lifestyle lends itself to lower COVID case numbers, and local leadership, faced with an impossible task, have led with a more reasonable and logical approach in this very challenging time.

This press release was produced by the Redding Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.