Another good California employment report; LA County adds 6,000 jobs in December 2018

The California EDD has released it’s data for the month of December 2018, and it continues to show a strong economy, with low unemployment.
Los Angeles County payrolls expanded by a net 6,000 positions in December, for an annual total increase of 60,000, a 1.3% rise from December 2017. The county’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.8%.

But will it continue?  Find out more at LAEDC’s annual Economic Forecast, February 20th in DTLA.

Here is some detail from the EDD press release of January 18, 2019, pertaining to the Los Angeles Metro Area:

Between December 2017 and December 2018, nonfarm employment in Los Angeles County
increased by 60,000 or 1.3 percent.

Leisure and hospitality (up 24,400) led the eight industry sectors adding over the year.
Accommodation and food services achieved record high employment (457,600), adding
16,600 jobs. Arts, entertainment and recreation also expanded, posting 7,800 job
additions.

LAEDC comment:  we continue to worry about the growth of low-wage jobs
that are poverty-inducing, such as in leisure/hospitality.  For example, food services jobs pay
in the range of $20,000 annually. We need more support for the strategy of fostering
well-paying jobs in our region’s globally competitive industries.  A bright spot in that regard
was a 6.9% annual increase in jobs for aerospace parts and products manufacturing.  We like the sound of that.

• Professional and business services rose by 16,400 with job increases in administrative
and support and waste services (up 9,000), professional, scientific, and technical
services (up 7,100), and management of companies and enterprises (up 300).

• Jobs in educational and health services increased by 15,500 over the year. Gains in
health care and social assistance (up 16,200) drove up the sector employment levels,
but a reduction of 700 jobs in educational services offset the overall gain.

• Government (down 3,200) had the greatest job loss among the declining sectors. Losses
occurred at all three levels of government, local (down 2,500), federal (down 600), and
state (down 100).

Read the full press release HERE.


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