Scary stat

More than 17 percent of the office space in L.A. County, Orange County and the Inland Empire is empty, the outgrowth of so many businesses cutting back and/or not risking any expansion. It's the story behind last week's dreadful unemployment numbers - and it's likely to continue through at least the early part of next year. How soon all that space starts to fill up will depend, of course, on how fast the economy begins to rebound. From the LAT:

"There was a dramatic drop-off in leasing velocity last quarter," said John McAniff, managing director of brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle. "Apparently the rebound on Wall Street did not translate to a rebound in tenant commitments. That tells me there is a lot of uncertainty out there." Office landlord Jeff Worthe of M. David Paul & Associates, which caters to the entertainment industry in Burbank and Santa Monica, was more optimistic. "People are thinking about getting back to their business plans and not being on defense," Worthe said. "We're seeing people ready to make commitments."