According to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), the number of major business expansions in Southern California during 2007 declined by 17.5 percent to 203 projects. This result was not unexpected given the economic uncertainties that developed over the course of 2007. In addition, conditions in the region’s industrial and office markets also had an impact. The press release and full report is now available at www.LAEDC.org.
According to the latest U.S. Labor Market Report, released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the U.S. employment situation slowed noticeably during March. The Bureau’s survey of employers reported that total nonfarm job counts fell by -80,000 workers last month, the worst showing since March 2003. Revisions sliced another 65,000 jobs from the January/February period. In total, U.S. employment has shrunk by -232,000 workers over the past three months, almost erasing the 4th quarter gain of +241,000 jobs.
Government payrolls increased by 18,000 employees last month; so private-sector payrolls dropped by -98,000 jobs, the fourth consecutive monthly decline. Four of the ten major industry groups reported higher job counts in March. The “plus” industries were led by education & health services (up by +42,000 jobs over the month), and leisure & hospitality (with an increase of +18,000 jobs). The biggest payroll declines were reported by construction (down by -51,000 jobs over the month), manufacturing (-48,000 jobs), and business & professional services (-35,000 jobs).
Compared with 12 months ago, nonfarm employers have added 536,000 workers to their payrolls, an increase of about 0.4%. Four private-sector industry groups reported higher payrolls over the year. Again, the biggest job gainers were education & health services (+546,000 jobs), leisure & hospitality (+331,000 jobs), and professional & business services (+161,000 jobs, even though temporary help firms shed -118,000 workers over the year). The construction and manufacturing sectors continued in the red, falling by -356,000 jobs and -310,000 jobs respectively compared to March 2007. Note that residential construction employment has declined by -286,000 jobs over the year; so payrolls in nonresidential and heavy construction have declined by a combined -24,000 workers over the past twelve months.
In the separate BLS survey of households, the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 5.1% in March from 4.8% in February and 4.9% in January. The nation’s jobless rate was 4.4% in March 2007; so the unemployment rate has risen by +0.7 percentage points over the past 12 months. Among the major demographic groups, the jobless rate for adult men has risen by +0.6 percentage points over the year, while the rate for adult women was up by +0.8 percentage points and the rate for teenagers increased by +1.2 percentage points. Over the same period, unemployment rates for whites and blacks both increased by +0.7 percentage points, while joblessness among Asians was up by 0.6 percentage points. The rate of unemployment among Hispanic workers rose by +1.7 percentage points.
The nation’s jobless rate has moved in an irregular-but-clearly-upward direction over the past 12 months. In addition, job counts are falling in many sectors of private industry, with the steepest declines in those related to housing construction, automotive and apparel/textiles manufacturing, and mortgage finance. These sectors lost -69,000 jobs in March and have shed -590,000 workers over the past 12 months. The only sectors reporting consistent employment gains are education & health care (which seem to grow no matter what happens in other parts of the economy), leisure & hospitality, and professional business services (outside of employment services). The unwillingness to hire is widespread, which indicates a high level of uncertainty about the outlook, not just for the economy in general but also for their own businesses.
(Nancy D. Sidhu)
PR: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
The February reports from Southern California airports continued to be a mixed bag. At LAX, total traffic for the month was up by 1.3% over the year to February, helped along by a 4.3% increase in international activity. At Los Angeles/Ontario International, the passenger count rose by 4.3%, despite ongoing weakness in the international component (-26.1%). The Palmdale Regional Airport counted 1,605 passengers during February (it will be three more months until we can start to make year-to-year comparisons).
February traffic at John Wayne/Orange County Airport was down by -4.2% over the year, the fourth decline in a row. The news was better at Palm Springs International, with a 3.6% gain over the year.
We only have January data for the Burbank Airport (up by 0.6% over the year), and Long Beach (a decline of -3.6% over the year to February).
The air cargo numbers for February were not pretty. At LAX, total tonnage for the month was down by 5.9% while ONT reported a 5.3% decline. The international air freight tonnage numbers for February were all over the place. At LAX, total tonnage was off by -6.2%, dragged down by a -15.0% drop in imports. However, export tonnage rose by 8.3% over the year. At ONT, total international air freight tonnage was up by 1.6%, pushed by a 6.4% gain over the year in imports. However, exports declined by -8.0%. (Jack Kyser)
The value of total public works construction contracts and projects started in California moved higher over the month in February to $1.4 billion (not inflation adjusted) according to a report released by the Construction Industry Research Board. The February total was up by +6.9% from January but down by -4.2% from February 2007. Most of the new activity was in heavy (civil works) construction which totaled $766.1 million, an increase of +31.4% over the month. The ‘Roads & Bridges’, one component of heavy construction, increased to $249.9 million or by +2.0% (over the month). This figure included a $66.9 million freeway project in San Diego County. The balance of heavy construction (which includes water & sewer works, dams, reservoirs, flood control, power, parks & landmarks, etc.) surged by +52.8% over the month to $516.2 million, due to a $205 million water treatment plant up in Sacramento County.
On the downside, the value of total public or government-owned building construction projects in the state declined by -11.9% over the month in February to $673.6 million. ‘Schools and community colleges’ construction projects totaled $357.4 million. This included a $64.9 million community college building in Los Angeles County, as well as a $67.2 million middle school building projects also in Los Angeles County. (Candice Flor Hynek)
April 7-8
Asia Pacific Business Outlook 2008
USC-Davidson Conference Center, Los Angeles. Early registration fee $775 until March 10, 2008. Regular registration fee: $925 after March 10, 2008.
The Asia/Pacific Business Outlook conference can be the catalyst for your success in Asia. Learn about the latest trade and investment opportunities and challenges from 50 concurrent sessions on 15 Asia/Pacific economies. Build your international business network through APBO's unprecendented access to 60 experts with on-the-ground knowledge and experience. Schedule one-on-one consultations with U.S. Senior Commercial Officers from each American embassy around Asia/Pacific region for private consultations and get specific answers to your questions.
Thursday, April 17
Housing Market Cycles with John Burns
11:30 a.m. at the Downtown Los Angeles Marriott.
The Los Angeles Chapter of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) presents “Housing Market Cycles” with John Burns. Mr. Burns consults to numerous builders and others in the real-estate industry throughout the United States. He will offer his latest observations on the state of the economy and housing market. The luncheon is on Thursday, April 17th at the Downtown Los Angeles Marriott. To register and for more information, please visit www.lanabe.org. Early bird registration available until April 10th.
Thursday, May 8
2008 San Fernando Valley Economic Summit
7:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Sheraton Universal Hotel.
Featuring National Economic Overview, Economic Trend & Opportunities, and Valley Economic & Real Estate Report.
Wednesday, May 14 - REGISTER TODAY!
International Trade Outlook
Breakfast & Networking: 8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. Program: 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. At Keesal, Young and Logan – Long Beach.
Foreign Direct Investment is a major contributor to LA County’s economy. Join us to preview this special report on FDI along with the International Trade Outlook report highlights. Speakers to include Port of Long Beach Commissioner Jim Hankla, California Transportation and Logistics Institute President Al Shepetuk, and LAEDC Chief Economist Jack Kyser.
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