L.A. County’s job creation machine kicked into full gear in October with employers in the county adding 52,000 jobs to their payrolls and pushing the total jobs to nearly 4.7 million, well into record territory, according to state figures released on Nov. 17.
The news from the state Employment Development Department was not so rosy on the unemployment front as the county’s unemployment rate ticked up to 5.2% in October from 5.1% in September. After hovering in the 4.9% to 5.0% for much of the year, the unemployment rate has now pushed higher out of that range.
The unemployment figures come from a survey of households in Los Angeles County, while the payroll jobs figures come from a sampling of employer payroll data submitted to the state. For the past two months, these sets of figures have been moving in different directions.
One explanation for this divergence may stem from the Hollywood strikes; the actors’ strike persisted throughout October before being settled earlier this month. Many working in the entertainment sector have traditionally not shown up on employer payrolls; with the strike in progress, more residents apparently told household surveyors that they were out of work. This was measured by the civilian employment figure, which declined by 10,000 from September to 4.76 million.
As for the payroll jobs, employers in just about every sector of the local economy reported net additions of jobs, led by a gain of 16,000 jobs in the combined ranks of public and private education. Much of this is seasonal as educational institutions finalize their ranks of substitute teachers and other part-time personnel for the academic year.
The state also releases a set of figures that adjust for this and other seasonal factors. According to that set of seasonally adjusted data, employers in the county added a net 11,000 jobs.
Besides education, other significant job-gaining sectors in the county in October were health care/social assistance sector, up 9,200 jobs, followed by professional/business services with 7,000 jobs. (These are unadjusted figures.)
No major sector of the local economy saw a significant shrinkage in jobs in October.
For the 12 months ending in October, employers in the county added a net 75,000 jobs to their payrolls for a gain of about 1.6%. The biggest gainers over that 12-month period were health care/social assistance (up 26,900 jobs) and eating/drinking places (up 20,700 jobs).
Not surprisingly given the strikes that roiled the sector this year, the motion picture/sound recording industry saw the biggest net drop in jobs, down 27,800. The manufacturing sector continued its long-term gradual slide, losing a net 3,500 jobs during the 12-month period ending in October.
Turning to the unemployment side of the ledger, the county’s unemployment rate of 5.2% in October was up from 5.1% in September and up from 4.7% last year. The rate was also higher than the statewide average for October of 4.8% and much higher than the nationwide average of 3.9%.
The Employment Development Department also releases a breakout of the unemployment rates by city, though unlike the countywide figure, these city rates are not seasonally adjusted. The county’s two largest cities, Los Angeles and Long Beach, posted unemployment rates in October of 5.3% and 4.7% respectively.
Among other cities with labor forces exceeding 10,000, Lomita had the lowest unemployment rate in October at 2.0%, while Burbank had the highest rate at 7.4%. Burbank, of course, is home to entertainment giant Walt Disney Co. and other studio lots that suffered production shutdowns during the strikes.
Among the cities in the San Fernando, Conejo, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys, besides Burbank, the city with the highest unemployment rate in October was Calabasas at 7.1%. Next was Lancaster at 6.6% followed closely by Palmdale at 6.5%.
In the middle of the pack were the cities of Los Angeles at 5.3% and Glendale at 5.0% and Santa Clarita at 4.9%.
San Fernando, with its 3.8% October unemployment rate, stood alone at the low end for cities in the quad-valley area with labor forces exceeding 10,000.