More than 200 people braved bad weather recently to hear economic forecasts that predicted more stormy times ahead.

The Ventura County Economic Development Association and the Economic Development Collaboration of Ventura County held their annual meetings together at Spanish Hills Country Club in Camarillo on Jan. 21.

The boards of the two groups include council members from county cities and representatives from major businesses that work cooperatively on advocating policies and legislation to stimulate business in Ventura County.

Featured speakers were Bill Watkins, executive director of the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting at California Lutheran University, and Ashish Vaidya, economics professor at California State University Channel Islands.

Before speaking publicly, Watkins said it’s going to take time for economic conditions to improve in the Golden State.

“California has issues. It’s going to be awhile,” he said.

The number of jobless people in California isn’t going to improve this year, with unemployment remaining at around 12 percent, Watkins said. “Most real estate decline is behind us, but there are record foreclosures we have to work through,” he said.

Although the economy overall isn’t good, he said, it’s still better than it was a year ago.

Vaidya, who specializes in international economics, said, “China, Brazil and India are doing better.”

The U.S. and other countries are interdependent, Vaidya said, but he didn’t make predictions about the world’s future economy.

“Our recovery is tied to growth,” Vaidya said.

“The next five years are not a pretty picture,” said Thousand Oaks economic development director Gary Wartik.

He said the economy is doing better, but the ability of government to fund programs will lag behind because the state’s budget problems are hurting cities and towns.