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March 4, 2006
Los Angeles County's unemployment rate dropped to 5.2percent in January, down from 5.5 percent in December, according to figures released Friday.
But the loss of manufacturing jobs worried some local analysts.
Manufacturing was one of only two industries, along with natural resources and mining, to post declines in the past year. Manufacturing jobs declined by 6,300, according to the California Employment Development Department.
In the San Gabriel Valley, the more industrialized the city, the higher the unemployment rate, said Vance Baugham, director of business assistance for the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership.
"But it's a modest rate simply because business has been good," he said.
The decline in industrial manufacturing is part of a national trend that has to do in part with global outsourcing, Baugham said.
Another challenge is finding qualified employees and finding room to expand.
"The concern we have is that with the tightening up of space in the area, competition for housing and so on, it's even tougher to get industrial space," Baugham said.
Employment has improved, but the continuing decline in the manufacturing sector is a big issue, Baugham said.
"We're losing quality industrial real estate simply because we're running out of space," Baugham said.
Preliminary figures showed modest recovery in manufacturing, but revisions to the numbers wiped them out, which was the only bad news in the latest employment report, said Jack Kyser, chief economist for
the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.
The county's civilian labor force receded by 17,000 in January, and all nonfarm industries posted declines. The declines are normal for the post-holiday season, with a lot of holiday travel and tourism, Kyser said.
Trade, transportation and utilities experienced the largest decline over the month, losing 20,700 jobs. Most of the decline came in retail trade, which reduced payrolls by 20,200, which was a normal seasonal layoff after the holiday season, according to the Employment Development Department.
California gained 18,300 jobs in January in nonfarm industries, which followed a gain of 4,900 jobs in December.
California's unemployment rate was 4.9 percent in January, down from 5.1 percent in December and 5.8 percent in January 2005.
The number of unemployed in California was 875,000, a decline of 36,000 during the month and down by 151,000 compared to January 2005.
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