Report Shows Job Losses Put Big Hole in Economy

The loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs shipped overseas from Sonoma County since 2000 is stripping almost $1 billion a year from the local economy, according to a report by the county’s Economic Development Board.

The losses to “offshoring” come just after a recession, creating a hole in the county’s economy that is only slowly being filled in, experts said.

“This is the first ‘new economy’ recession we’ve ever had,” said Ben Stone, director of the Economic Development Board. “It’s hard for people to know where it’s going to go.”