Los Angeles County Business Scan
The Kyser Center for Economic Research
Overall Outlook - Last Updated October 25, 2011
Click on any indicator for more details. Blue highlight : Recently updated
Indicator |
Most recent period |
Current reading |
Year earlier reading |
Annual % change |
Unemployment Rate |
Aug 2011 |
12.5%
|
12.8% |
-0.3 pp |
Construction Employment |
Aug 2011 |
98,600 |
105,600 |
-6.6% |
Technology Employment |
Aug 2011 |
86,100 |
85,800 |
+0.4% |
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Employment |
Aug 2011 |
271,100 |
273,500 |
-0.9% |
Finance and Insurance Employment |
Aug 2011 |
135,300 |
138,000 |
-2.0% |
Health Services Employment |
Aug 2011 |
364,600 |
357,500 |
+2.0% |
Fashion/Apparel Employment |
Aug 2011 |
80,100 |
77,200 |
+3.8% |
Ocean Container Traffic (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) |
Aug 2011 |
1,259,100 |
1,374,900 |
-8.4% |
Airport Passenger Traffic |
June 2011 |
6,282,000 |
5,904,000 |
+6.4% |
Single Family Housing Construction Permits |
Aug 2011 |
203 |
176 |
+15.3% |
Multifamily Housing Construction Permits |
Aug 2011 |
1,120 |
564 |
+98.6% |
Median Home Prices |
Sept 2011 |
$310,000 |
$340,000 |
-8.8% |
Revenue per Available Room (REVPAR) |
Aug 2011 |
$130.24 |
$119.48 |
+9.0% |
Industrial Vacancy Rate |
2Q 2011 |
3.1% |
3.3% |
-0.2 pp |
Film Production Days |
2Q 2011 |
11,260 |
11,134
|
+0.1% |
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Los Angeles County decreased to 12.5% in August from a year ago (by -0.3 percentage points). Nonfarm employment created +8,200 jobs over the same period. Employment gains were evident in the fashion/apparel sectors, a +3.8% increase year-over-year increase. Jobs in construction are at historic lows, and the future for the industry is uncertain. On one end, the demand for construction permits for single family housing increased by +15.3%, and increased for multi-family housing by +98.6%. On the other end, median home values in Los Angeles County decreased by -8.8% on an annual basis. Tourism is a ray of sunshine for the Los Angeles County. Passenger traffic at the combined L.A.-area airports increased year-over-year by +6.4% in June. Revenue per available hotel rooms (REVPAR) in August showed a year-over-year increase of +9.0%.
August container traffic at the Port of Los Angeles increased the past two months on a monthly basis, but experienced a -5.3 % decrease from last year. The Port of Long Beach experienced a drop compared to a year earlier (-12.3 %); aggregate container traffic for both ports is -8.4 % less than last year. The industrial vacancy rate in Los Angeles County decreased in the second quarter of 2011 from the same period in 2010 (by -0.2 percentage points). Total film production days in Los Angeles County increased in the second quarter of 2011 from a year earlier (up by 0.1%).
Unemployment Rate  *updated*
August 2011: 12.5 percent
August 2010: 12.8 percent
The Los Angeles County seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased (-0.2 percentage points) in August compared to July, but it decreased (+0.3 percentage points) when compared to a year earlier. LA County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was higher than California’s rate (12.1 %) and has remained higher than California since April 2010. The United States’ rate (9.1%) in August has been lower than the Los Angeles County SA unemployment rate since August of 2006.
[View graph]
Source: California Employment Development Department (http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov)
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Construction Employment
August 2011: 98,600 employees
August 2010: 105,600 employees
Los Angeles County construction employment decreased by -6.6% in August compared to a year earlier. Construction employment in LA County has had consecutive year-over-year declines every month since August 2007. Employment in construction has been under 100,000 for five of the first 8 months of 2011. Prior to 2011, construction employment in Los Angeles County had only been below this mark for one month since 1990.
[View graph]
Source: California Employment Development Department (http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov)
Construction is comprised of NAICS code 23.
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Technology Employment 
August 2011: 86,100 employees
August 2010: 85,800 employees
An increase of employment by +0.4% was created in the technology sector of Los Angeles County. The increase in jobs from a last year was found in computer systems design and related services (+0.7% to 26,900) and computer & electronic manufacturing (+0.2% to 49,200). Technology employment is inching back towards its pre-recession levels of 90,000 to 100,000 jobs.
[View graph]
Source: California Employment Development Department (http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov)
Technology is comprised of NAICS codes 334, 5112, 5118, and 5415.
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Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Employment *updated*
August 2011: 271,000 employees
August 2010: 273,500 employees
Professional, scientific, and technical services employment (including computer systems design and related services) in Los Angeles County fell by -0.9% in August from 12 months earlier. However, the average year-to-date employment in Professional Services is +0.7% higher than the same period 2010 as monthly job numbers in this sector significantly fluctuate.
[View graph]
Source: California Employment Development Department (http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov)
Professional services are comprised of NAICS codes 54 and 5415.
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Finance and Insurance Employment
August 2011: 135,300 employees
August 2010: 138,000 employees
Finance and insurance employment numbers in Los Angeles County in August decreased by -2.0% from a year earlier. Finance and Insurance employment has decreases on a year-to-year basis since November of 2006; however, the rate of job losses has decreased. From September 2009 to August 2010, employment in Finance and Insurance decreased -5.2% per month. Since then, employment in the sector has decreased -1.2% per month.
[View graph]
Source: California Employment Development Department (http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov)
Finance and insurance are comprised of NAICS code 52.
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Health Services Employment
August 2011: 416,300 employees
August 2010: 410,000 employees
Health services employment in Los Angeles County increased by 2.0% in August from a year earlier. Health Services employment in Los Angeles County has had consecutive year-to-year increases since May 2005. Employment increased by +2.0% in health care and by +3.0% in pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing. However, social assistance employment decreased by -1.0% to 58,600 employees over the same period.
[View graph]
Source: California Employment Development Department (http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov)
Health services are comprised of NAICS code 62 (except 624) and 3524.
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Fashion/Apparel Production and Wholesale Employment
August 2011: 80,100 employees
August 2010: 77,200 employees
Fashion industry employment in Los Angeles County for August increased by +3.8% from a year earlier with an increase of +2,900 employees. On the up-and-up, apparel wholesaling employment has increased on a year-to-year basis since March 2010 and apparel manufacturing has increased since June 2010. In August 2011, apparel wholesaling employment rose by +1.0% (to 21,100 jobs) and apparel manufacturing rose by 6.1% (to 52,100 jobs). Lagging behind, jobs in textile mills have decreased on a year-to-year basis since January of 2006. In August 2011, jobs in textile mills decreased by -4.2 % (to 6,900 jobs).
[View graph]
Source: California Employment Development Department (http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov)
Fashion employment is comprised of NAICS codes 313, 315, and 4243.
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Ocean Container Traffic *updated*
August 2011: 1,259,100 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs)
August 2010: 1,374,800 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs)
Combined container traffic at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles decreased by -8.4% since August 2010. Container traffic compared to the year prior has been consecutively decreasing since June of this year. Loaded inbound TEUs have decreased -9.4% since August 2010. However, loaded outbound crates have increased by +11.6 %.
Container traffic at the Port of Long Beach has had a -12.3% decrease in traffic to 535,900 TEUs. The Port of Los Angeles experienced a -5.3% drop in traffic since August 2010 to 723,200 TEUs.
[View graph]
Sources: Ports of Long Beach (http://www.polb.com/about/port_stats/latest_monthly_teus.asp) and Los Angeles (http://www.portoflosangeles.org/factsfigures_Monthly.htm)
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Airport Passenger Traffic
June 2011: 6.282 million passengers
June 2010: 5.904 million passengers
Passenger traffic for the combined LA County airports of Burbank, Long Beach, and Los Angeles increased in June by +6.4% from a year ago. Combined passenger traffic has increased for 21 of the last 22 months.
Passenger traffic increased by +7.5% at LAX (to 5.631 million passengers) and by +2.8% at Long Beach (to 278 thousand passengers) from a year ago. Meanwhile, passenger traffic decreased by -5.1% at Burbank (to 372 thousand passengers) from a year ago.
[View graph]
Sources: Burbank (http://www.burbankairport.com), and Los Angeles (http://www.lawa.org/lax/volTraffic.cfm) Airports
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Single Family Housing Construction Permits
August 2011: 203 permits
August 2010: 176 permits
Single family housing construction permits in Los Angeles County increased by +15.3% in August from a year earlier; however, they have decreased by -9.4% on a year-to-date basis from the same period a year ago.
[View graph]
Source: Construction Industry Research Board (http://www.cirbdata.com/)
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Multifamily Housing Construction Permits
August 2011: 1120 permits
August 2010: 564 permits
Multifamily housing construction permits in Los Angeles County increased by +98.6 % in August from 12 months prior; additionally, they have increased on a year-to-date basis by +49.6% from the same period a year ago.
[View graph]
Source: Construction Industry Research Board (http://www.cirbdata.com/)
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Median Existing Home Prices
September 2011: $310,000
September 2010: $340,000
The median price of homes in Los Angeles County decreased -8.8% in September from a year earlier, which was the largest year-to year decrease since October 2008-2009. Median home prices in Los Angeles County have decreased consecutively for 11 months on a year-to-year basis.
[View graph]
Source: California Association of Realtors (http://www.car.org/)
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Hotel Revenue per Available Room (REVPAR)
August 2011: $ 130.24 REVPAR
August 2010: $ 119.48 REVPAR
Hotel revenue per available room (REVPAR) in Los Angeles County rose by +9.0% in August from the same month a year earlier. Hotel occupancy rates were up by +5.7% from August of last year, reaching 81.8 % occupancy (for the twentieth consecutive month of year-over-year increases). August average daily room rates rose by +5.7% since the same period in 2010, increasing to $159.19.
[View graph]
Source: PKF Consulting (http://www.pkfonline.com/)
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Industrial Vacancy Rate (Quarterly) *updated*
Second Quarter 2011: 3.1 %
Second Quarter 2010: 3.3 %
The Los Angeles County industrial vacancy rate moved closer to the 3% mark, which it has been above since the second quarter of 2009. The Downtown area saw its industrial vacancy rate decrease by -0.2% year-to-year, Mid-Cities decreased by -0.8%, San Fernando Valley decreased by -0.1%, South Bay increased by +0.2%, and the San Gabriel Valley decreased by -0.3% over the second quarter of last year.
[View Graph] [View Graph - By Area]
Source: Grubb & Ellis (http://www.grubb-ellis.com/research/reports.aspx)
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Film Production Days (Quarterly)
Second Quarter 2011: 11,260 production days
Second Quarter 2010: 11,134 production days
Total film production days in Los Angeles County increased by 0.1% in the second quarter of 2011 from the second quarter of 2010. Production decreased for commercials (-0.1 % to 1,484 days) and for television (-0.7%to 4,024 days), yet increased in feature films (4.0 % to 1604 days).
[View graph]
Source: FilmL.A. (http://filmlainc.com/html/data.html) and Santa Clarita Film Office (http://www.santa-clarita.com/cityhall/cd/ed/film/office.asp)
Figures represent permitted days of location filming in the City of Los Angeles, unincorporated Los Angeles County, Diamond Bar, Lancaster, Palmdale, Santa Clarita, South Gate, West Hollywood, Angeles National Forest, and Los Angeles Unified School District facilities.
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