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You read right - despite the state jobless rate edging higher in June to 11.6 percent, L.A. County's rate fell to 11.3 percent from a revised 11.6 percent the previous month. (Here is the EDD release.) Not to sound like the prophet of doom, but it's hard to see where the decline is coming from, other than the possibility that more folks have just given up looking for work - and thus didn't get included in the count. Also, let's not forget about people who are underemployed (being reduced to part-time status, for example). Using that measure pushes the rate to almost 16 percent in L.A. County, according to the Economic Roundtable. From its release:
Young workers, those under 25 years of age, have the highest under-employment rates: 28.9 percent of young workers in Los Angeles County and 26.8 in California are under-employed. Under-employment rates for men are nearly a quarter higher than for women. In Los Angeles County, the under-employment rate for men is 17.3 percent for men versus 14.1 percent for women. In California, it is 18.2 percent for men versus 13.7 percent for women.
The state's separate payroll survey also lays out a pretty grim picture for L.A. A total of 13,600 jobs were lost between May 2009 and June 2009 (educational and health services had the greatest month-over job loss, at 10,500). But you really see the damage between June 2008 and June 2009. Over that period Los Angeles County employment fell by 188,300, or 4.6 percent. That's big. Among some of the worst sectors:
--Wholesale trade, down 10,300
--Retail trade, down 21,100
--Warehousing and utilities, down 11,000
--Durable goods manufacturing, down 23,000
--Non-durable goods manufacturing, down 15,800
--Entertainment, down 17,700
--Hotel and food services, down 16,900
--Construction, down 20,600
--Financial services, down 12,300
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.