County Looks to Hire Nearly 600 Workers

San Diego County plans to hire 590 new workers in the next 12 months, it was reported Thursday, which could be good news for some of Poway's unemployed residents.

New workers will be hired primarily to staff two expanded detention centers and to help the county administer the state healthcare system, Medi-Cal, to local residents, according to U-T San Diego.

The latest state figures put Poway's unemployment rate at 4.1 percent, down from 5.1 percent this time last year.

[See: San Diego County's job site]

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is looking to hire 140 new workers to staff the recently revamped Las Colinas Women's Detention Facility in Santee.

The department is also looking to add 106 workers to help staff the enlarged East Mesa Detention Re-Entry and Rehabilitation Facility for juvenile offenders.

The Health and Human Services Agency is looking to hire 307 people to help low-income residents who currently use the Healthy Families program transition to Medi-Cal. The change is required by the state Legislature.

Money for the new hires is included in the county's proposed $4.97 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

-City News Service. Shauntel Lowe contributed to this report.