L.A. County Unemployment on Hold at 4.5 Percent

L.A. County’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.5 percent in July even as seasonal job losses gripped the education sector, according to state figures released Friday. The steady jobless rate was the result of a balancing of two trends: roughly 3,000 more Los Angeles County residents reported they had jobs in July compared with the previous month, but the labor force also grew to 5.15 million as 3,000 more people began looking for work, according to the state Employment Development Department. The unemployment rate was below the 4.7 percent L.A. County recorded in July 2017. But it was higher than the 4.2 percent unemployment rate the state registered last month and the 3.9 percent national figure. Meanwhile, employers in Los Angeles County reported a net drop of 47,500 payroll jobs in July to 4,447,000, according to the EDD data. The vast majority of the drop came in education after the end of the academic year in June, with public sector K-12 schools shedding 37,500 jobs and private education institutions dropping by 5,000 for a total sector loss of 42,500. Besides education, the professional and business services category was the biggest loser, shedding a net 4,300 jobs in July. That was offset by a gain of 6,400 jobs in the leisure/hospitality sector as the summer tourist season kicked in to full gear.