County Unemployment Rate Plunges
Led by manufacturing jobs the unemployment rate in the Tulare County was 12.0 percent in May 2013, down from a revised13.6 percent in April 2013, and below the year-ago estimate of 14.8 percent. In May 2012 there were 31,600 residents unemployed. In May of this year that number is down to 25,500 – over a 19 percent improvement. The county added 900 more manufacturing jobs in the past year even though farm jobs are down year over year.
Tulare County’s Median Home Price jumped 24% in the last year,from$127,020 in May 2012 to $157,500 in May 2013 CAR reports.But sales fell 8.1% in the past year and were up month over month by 8.5%.
Six strong home builders in the county through the first half of the year – good competition – led by Lennar with 40 permits,McMillin with 36,Smee 30,Centex 26, West Star with 25 and Woodside with 24. Developer Harvey May says “somebody turned the switch on.”
Solar installations are the biggest construction category in the county this year.Residential solar permits number428 valued at nearly $12 million and on the commercial side there were 15 permits valued at $47 million- about half the commercial construction total for the county during the first half of 2013.
Dollar General has flied a preliminary site plan with the City of Visalia for a new store in the former Harbor Freight space at 1847 S Mooney in Visalia this month. The company is also planning a new 9100sf store to be built in Earlimart that will be the subject of a county Planning Commission meeting June 26. The store will be located at the northwest corner of Ave 56,some 90 feet east of Hwy
99.
Sleep Train will open a store on South Mooney in the Dicks Sporting Goods shopping center taking some 4500sf at the south end of the shopping center. The company is the largest mattress retailer on the west cost.The outlet will be called Mattress Discounter.