e-EDGE is now available as an RSS feed. [Click here to subscribe to it.]The Bureau of Labor Statistics just released its latest U.S. Labor Market Report covering the U.S. employment situation in March. The overall message was a good deal more upbeat than in recent months, though labor markets continued to be weak overall. The unemployment rate continued high, but nonfarm employment increased noticeably last month, especially in the private sector. Taken together, these are signs the long downtrend in labor markets could be ending—and none too soon.
Looking first at the employer survey, total nonfarm employment grew by +162,000 jobs in March, compared with a revised loss of just -14,000 jobs in February, which had offset a revised gain of +14,000 jobs in January. Monthly job counts grew by an average of +54,000 workers during the first quarter, well above the fourth quarter average decline of -90,000 workers, a good sign.
Government payrolls grew by +39,000 workers in March. The federal government stepped up hiring of temporary Census workers, while, state/local governments and school districts reduced headcounts by a combined -9,000 workers. Employment rolls in the private sector swelled by +123,000 workers last month, the third consecutive monthly increase following 24 dreary months of decline.
Looking at the private industry detail, eight of ten sectors reported higher payrolls in March. Private education & health care services employment grew by +45,000 workers, and the leisure & hospitality sector reported an increase of +22,000 jobs. Manufacturing payrolls were up for the third consecutive month, this time by +17,000 workers. In addition, job counts in retail trade and construction grew by +15,000 workers each (the latter increase was due in large part to better weather compared with February). Business & professional services employment rose by +11,000 jobs compared with February (due entirely to an increase of +40,000 jobs at temporary help agencies). The wholesale trade and transportation & warehousing sectors both reported single-digit gains. Only two sectors reported payroll declines over the month: financial activities (-21,000 jobs) and information (-12,000 jobs).
However, the picture wasn't as rosy compared with March, 2009: nonfarm employers in the U.S. have sliced payrolls by -2,320,000 workers, a decrease of -1.8%. Private-sector employment dropped by -2,256,000 jobs, or -2.1% over this period. The only major private-sector industry group reporting higher payrolls versus last year continued to be education & health services (+347,000 jobs). Employment has also increased in six smaller industries: temporary help employment (up by +166,000 jobs); computer systems design services (+9,500 jobs); food manufacturing (+6,700 jobs); other information services (+1,300 jobs); museums, historical sites, zoos, & parks (+1,000 jobs) and oil & gas extraction (+100 jobs). On the downside, the construction and manufacturing sectors have shed large numbers of workers over the past year. Compared with March 2009, job counts have plunged by -701,000 jobs and -633,000 jobs respectively.
The separate BLS-sponsored survey of households also suggested that labor market conditions could be stabilizing. The U.S. unemployment rate was 9.7% last month, the same as in February and January and down from 10.0% in December and November. Still, joblessness remained well above the 8.6% rate of March 2009, a reminder that labor market conditions are still pretty weak.
Comparing the major demographic groups with March 2009, jobless rates for adult men and women have risen by +1.1 percentage points and +0.9 percentage points respectively, while the rate for teenagers jumped by +4.1 percentage points. Over the same period, the unemployment rates for whites and Asians increased by +0.8 percentage points and +1.1 percentage points respectively. Meanwhile, joblessness among black and Hispanic workers grew by +3.0 percentage points and +1.0 percentage points respectively.
Labor market conditions deteriorated badly in this long downturn, and the problems have just begun to recede. Total nonfarm employment decreased by -8.36 million workers in the 26 months between December 2007 and February 2010. March's employment increase was certainly welcome, but there's still a long way to go. (Nancy D. Sidhu)
Source: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
Every year, thousands of California tenth graders take the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE). The purpose of this test is to ensure that students who graduate from California’s public high schools have achieved a grade-level competency in reading, writing and mathematics. The test is initially administered to tenth graders in order to identify high school students who have not developed a basic set of skills that will be essential for life after high school. School districts are then encouraged to give these students the extra attention and resources they need to acquire these skills. All California public school students (except students with an eligible disability) must pass the CASHEE in order to receive a high school diploma.
The CASHEE was first offered in 2001 after the state legislature determined that local proficiency standards were often set below high school standards. The legislature proposed the CASHEE as a means to improve pupil achievement in California’s public high schools. Students who do not pass the exam in the tenth grade must retake it until the student has passed both parts (mathematics and English language arts). The exam is offered up to twice a year in grade 11 and up to five times per year in grade 12.
The results of the CASHEE are published and made public by the California Department of Education. The percentage of students in Los Angeles County who passed the exam in 2001 (all grade levels) was considerably lower than the rate that passed statewide. While Los Angeles County managed to close the gap in subsequent years, passing rates for both the mathematics and English language portions of the exam remain distressingly low. Statewide, 64% of students passed the English portion of the exam in 2001, and 44% passed the mathematics portion. In Los Angeles County, 55% of students passed in English while only 35% met the mathematics requirement. Passing rates fell the next year at both the state and county levels but improved significantly during the 2003 and 2004 academic years, only to fall again in 2005.
Performance changed in 2006 when the CASHEE became a requirement for graduating high school. Prior to 2006, it was primarily tenth graders who took the exam and most of them passed on the first attempt. After the CASHEE became a graduation requirement, there was a significant drop in exam pass rates (exhibited by the graphs below) because more 11th and 12th graders were included in the results. These are students who failed one or both portions of the test in the 10th grade, because they were lacking in basic reading, writing and mathematics skills and may still be struggling to acquire them (English-learners and children with disabilities also influence results). The exam pass rates for Los Angeles County and the state were roughly even from 2006 to 2008 (30% for English and 29% for mathematics in 2008).
Why does test performance matter? Tracking test scores and searching for ways to improve results is an important step in maintaining a competitive edge in the global economy. Southern California has excellent institutions of higher learning, but there is substantial room for improvement in K-12 education. Successful education outcomes are necessary to prepare job seekers for high-value jobs and to ensure that businesses have enough workers with the right skills to meet their needs. In turn, a skilled work force can attract businesses to the region bringing more jobs and income, which spurs economic growth. (Kimberly Ritter)
Source: http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/
The January hotel numbers from PKF Consulting are normally weaker than the rest of the year. This year’s figures were a little less worse, with occupancy rates up a tad but room rates down. In Los Angeles County, the occupancy rate was 67.2% compared with 61.0% last year. However, the average daily room rate (ADR) declined by -5.0% over the year to $145.09. By area in the County, the highest occupancy rate was the Airport area’s 77.7%. The highest ADR in the County was found in Beverly Hills. At $407.66, it was down over the year by a modest -1.6%.
In Orange County, the January hotel occupancy rate was 56.7% compared with 56.9% last year. The ADR, however, declined by -10.1% to $130.55. By area in the County, the highest occupancy rate in January was the Orange County Airport area’s 64.8%. The highest ADR was the South County’s $186.37, down by -8.2% over the year to January.
San Diego County’s hotel occupancy rate in January was 59.7%, compared with 57.8% last year. The ADR dropped by -10.3% to $134.87. The highest occupancy rate was Sports Arena/Old Town’s 71.3%, while San Diego Bay Areas has the highest ADR at $204.24. This was down by just -6.8%.
For the Bay Area, the PKF numbers were also lackluster. In San Francisco, the January occupancy rate was 61.4% compared with 61.0% last year. The ADR fell by -9.4% to $151.47. By area in the City, the highest occupancy rate was the Financial District’s 67.3%, which was up from last year’s 62.6%. The occupancy rate in San Jose/Peninsula was 57.9%, up from 52.8% last year. The ADR fell, however, by -13.2% to $111.22.
If you are looking for an area in Northern California with hotel rooms to spare, try Monterey/Carmel which had a January occupancy rate of 41.6%. The area does do business meetings, but is more difficult to reach. And hotel owners haven’t been aggressive in cutting room rates. The ADR for the month was down by only -2.4% over the year. (Jack Kyser)
February total passenger traffic and air cargo reports are in from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Ontario International Airport, Long Beach Airport, John Wayne/Orange County Airport and Burbank Airport (Bob Hope Airport). Two of the five local airports (LAX and John Wayne) reported higher levels of passenger traffic compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, two of the five (LAX and Burbank) experienced higher air cargo tonnage compared to February 2009.
LAX total passenger counts (domestic and international) came in at 3.9 million passengers in February. Domestic passengers numbered 2.8 million and international passengers totaled 1.1 million in February. LAX experienced a rise of +4.5 percent in total passenger traffic compared to February 2009. Total air cargo tonnage was up by +25.4 percent from February 2009 to February 2010.
Ontario International Airport’s passenger traffic figures were lower, moving down by -3.9 percent in February over the year. Meanwhile, air cargo tonnage fell by -2.9 percent from February 2009.
Long Beach Airport’s total passenger count declined by -3.3 percent in February compared to a year ago. Total air cargo tonnage was down by -18.9 percent from February 2009 to February 2010.
The John Wayne/Orange County Airport total passenger count in February (599,114) was up by +2.8 percent relative to February 2009. Air cargo tonnage (1,230 tons) declined by -3.9 percent compared to February 2009.
Burbank Airport’s total passenger traffic declined by -4.9 percent in February over the year. Air cargo tonnage grew by +11.6 percent from February 2009 to February 2010. (Ferdinando Guerra)
Source: http://www.lawa.org/welcomelax.aspx
http://www.lawa.org/welcomeONT.aspx
http://www.ocair.com/
http://www.longbeach.gov/airport/default.asp
http://www.burbankairport.com/
Vehicles sales increased over the year in March for the fifth consecutive month. Total light vehicles sales last month were 11.8 million (seasonally adjusted annual rate or SAAR), up by +21.4% from March 2009. Sales also increased over the month, rising by +13.7% compared with February.
Total car sales, including both foreign and domestic models, jumped by +19.1% last month from twelve months earlier (to 6.0 million SAAR). Foreign auto sales fell by -3.3% (to 1.7 million SAAR), while sales of domestic models surged by +31.3% (to 4.3 million SAAR). On a month-over basis, domestic sales increased by +14.6% while sales of foreign nameplates edged up by just +0.4%.
Combined sales of foreign and domestic light trucks were also up last month. Over the year, total light truck sales rose by +23.8% (to 5.8 million vehicles SAAR). Over the month, the number of light trucks climbed by +17.8% after falling by -4.2% in February. Domestic models retained their dominance in the light truck segment. Rising by +27.3% (to 4.7 million SAAR), sales of domestic nameplates drove last month’s year-over increase even as sales of foreign models staged a decent upswing (rising by +10.0% to 1.0 million SAAR).
Sales of medium-heavy trucks slipped in March by -7.4% compared to the same period last year, and fell over the month by -4.6%. In January and February, sales of medium-heavy trucks experienced a small uptick on following a string of 36 double-digit year-over declines beginning in January 2007. The monthly numbers show a surge in sales from November 2009 to February 2010 in the range of 0.23 million, dropping back to 0.20 million in February and 0.19 in March.
Automotive sales in March were pushed above year-ago levels by better weather, strong dealer incentives and higher sales at Toyota. Over the past six months, vehicle sales have averaged 10.9 million, which is moderately above the average of 2009, but still well below the 2008 average of 13.2 million. Light vehicle sales appear to have troughed, but the road back to health for the automotive industry is likely to be a bumpy one. (Kimberly Ritter)
Source: www.bea.gov
April 19-20, 2010: USC Marshall School of Business: Asia/Pacific Business Outlook 2010
USC - Davidson Conference Center (on Campus), 3415 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA
As the world economies slowly rebound from the financial crisis in 2010, Asian economic growth leads the globe. Learn how your firm can benefit from Asia’s surge. Now in its 23rd year, APBO is North America’s premier event for business leaders who want to expand their trade and investment in Asia/Pacific. APBO features 60 concurrent sessions on 15 Asia/Pacific economies. Build your international business network through APBO’s unprecedented access to 60 business experts with on-the-ground knowledge and experience.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010: International Trade Outlook: L.A. County's Global Economic Ties
Breakfast & Networking: 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Program: 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. At Hilton Long Beach & Executive Meeting Center, Catalina Ballroom (701 West Ocean Boulevard).
Los Angeles County has one of the world’s largest and most dynamic economies, thanks in part to its strong economic ties with nations from around the globe. In the first of an upcoming series of Key Country reports, the Kyser Center for Economic Research will release a special report on China, L.A. County’s largest trading partner. The report which will feature trade connections between China and L.A. County, investments that local companies have made in China, the educational and cultural ties between the two regions, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Additionally, the LAEDC will present its annual International Trade Trends & Impacts report highlighting the trade activity for the Southern California 5-county region.
Thursday, April 22, 2010: Earth Day Panel: How will Greenhouse Gas Regulations Impact Small Businesses in California?
11:30 – 1:30 p.m. at the Omni Hotel, 251 South Olive St., Los Angeles, CA; $45.00 LA NABE members, $65.00 for non-members; includes program and lunch.
The event will feature Jasmin Anwar, Ph.D., Western States Climate Economist, Union of Concerned Scientists and Gregory Freeman, Vice President Economic & Policy Consulting, LAEDC presenting their views on how AB 32 will impact small businesses in California and the State’s economy overall.
Thursday, April 22, 2010: CALED Recovery Summit: Here's the Money: Access tools and stimulus $$$ for recovery
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Hilton Long Beach (701 W Ocean Blvd.). $125 Member. $145 Non-Member. $50 CALED 30th Anniversary Dinner - (April 21).
Many of you have shared the challenges that you are facing related to funding and support for your economic development priorities. In direct response to this urgent need CALED will hold a one-day summit focused on programs with funds to support economic development. Rest assured that the summit will deliver the networking, learning, and sharing opportunities that you have grown to expect of our conference. However, there will also be a strong focus on available funding and tools for economic development and job retention & creation. This is a critical juncture for many communities and economic development programs across California, and we have a line-up of knowledgeable speakers who will share their programs and funding availability with our attendees. Additional No Cost Functions: EDC - Creating a Sustainable EDC Model (April 21) and Revolving Loan Fund Operator's Facilitated Workshop (April 23)
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