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All data sources are listed in the section Data Sources and Downloads.
Long Term Decline of Mendocino County's Economic Foundation
Decline of Jobs in the Timber Industry
Sources: State Employment Development Department
US Census Bureau County Business Patterns
The population of Mendocino County is too small to support a self-contained local economy; our local economy must sell a significant amount of goods and services to customers who live outside our county. Without industries that bring substantial amounts of money into the County, we won't have a healthy local economy. Over the past 30 years, the timber, fishing, and ranching industries, once our primary export engines, have seriously declined. We may argue about why, but regardless of why, those jobs are gone. Two industries in Mendocino County have had the capacity to fill the economic "export industry" gap left by the decline of timber – wine (and other food products) and tourism. But neither has grown enough to provide the share of jobs, family incomes and tax base formerly provided to the community by the timber industry.
This long-term decline in the strength of our underlying local economy means the community is relatively less able to support local government budgets.
Click to go to next page, County and Private Sector Jobs, 1996 – 2004.
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