Agenda - 01-29-2009 - Attachment 5

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Attachment 5 Orange County Department of Social Services Economic Impact Report January 2009 In Orange County over the last ten years, the number of families receiving Federal Food and Nutrition Program benefits, or Food Stamps, has increased more than 120%. The population has increased about 4% in the county for the same time period. The Orange County Department of Social Services and its clients, along with other organizations across the state and country, are seeing the sharp effects of not just the current economic downtown but the residual impact of the recession and correlating downtown that occurred in early 2000. Poor and lower-middle class working families are typically the first to suffer in a downturn and the last to recover during a rebound. While the media has focused a lot of attention on wild stock market fluctuations and the trouble of banks and other large corporations over the last six months, these families have been feeling the effects of this crisis without the benefit of the recovery and housing boom of the mid 2000s. For many of these families, intensive social work services combined with public assistance are needed to struggle through this mounting crisis. In Orange County, most low-income earners are employed in the services sector in hourly positions. As the economy stagnates and businesses lose money, many of these people have their hours reduced or jobs eliminated. Lower-middle class earners are next to feel the strain as prices increase and wages remain the same. With limited savings, most in these circumstances find themselves in dire financial condition. These types of situations are contributing to the increasing numbers of people reliant on public assistance programs and needing social work services throughout the state and in Orange County. A third Orange County population is just beginning to see the impact of this economic crisis. As layoffs begin to hit RTP area businesses and government entities, this segment of Orange County's population may find themselves facing difficulty. Job searches are taking longer and the competition is stiff for high paying jobs. Once savings are depleted, many of these families will need help. Based on these factors, Social Services is anticipating increases in all areas for at least the next 12-18 months. The charts below show the unadjusted unemployment rate in Orange County since 2000- 2001 and the Food and Nutrition Program increases over the same time period.