When it comes to pandemic damage, Ridgecrest has fared better than many places, according to Mark Schniepp.
Ridgecrest lost far fewer jobs and rebounded more quickly than the rest of Kern County and California and can likely look forward to a good future along with the rest of the Indian Wells Valley assuming recovery from the pandemic continues, he said.
Schniepp, who is Director of the California Economic Forecast in Santa Barbara, was the keynote speaker at the virtual Indian Wells Valley Economic Outlook Conference Feb. 25.
Employment in Ridgecrest only went down around 4% at the worst last April, as compared to nearly 16% for both the state and Kern County at the same time. Job loss was at its greatest shortly after the first statewide shelter-in-place order went into effect last March.