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<br /> <br />The Effects of a $15 Minimum Wage by 2019 in Santa Clara County and San Jose 11 <br /> <br />1. THE ECONOMIC CONTEXT <br />We review here the current economic conditions in Santa Clara County, the City of San Jose and, <br />for context, California. We focus on four economic indicators over the Great Recession and <br />recovery: unemployment rates, job growth, employment rates, and earnings. Each provides a <br />somewhat different perspective on the nature of the current recovery. <br />The Great Recession started near the end of 2007 and officially lasted until June 2009. <br />California was hit hard by the recession as state unemployment rates soared into double digits as <br />did the rates for San Jose and Santa Clara County (Figure 2). Unemployment rates started to <br />decline as the economy improved. The April 2016 unemployment rate for California was 5.3 <br />percent, down to its 2007 pre-recession rate. The 2015 annual unemployment in San Jose was <br />4.5 percent, lower than its pre-recession rate (5.2 percent in 2007). <br />Figure 2. Annual unemployment rates, 2007-2015 <br /> <br />Source: Annual unemployment rates are from the California Employment Development Department. <br /> <br />Unemployment rates improved as job growth strengthened over the last several years. Figure 3 <br />shows the sizable job losses in Santa Clara County and California during the recession. Job <br />growth returned in 2011—at a faster pace in Santa Clara County than in California—and that <br />higher pace of job growth in Santa Clara County has increased even as job growth in the state <br />steadily improved. <br />8.A. - Page 25