September Unemployment Steady in L.A. County

L.A. County’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.4 percent in September as education-related hiring offset declines in several other sectors, according to state figures released Friday. The unemployment rate has held in the mid-4 percent range for the past six months, Employment Development Department data shows. That’s slightly above the record low of 4.2 percent earlier this year — indicative of a local job market at or near full employment. In September 2018, the rate was 4.6 percent. The county’s 4.4% unemployment rate is slightly higher than the 4 percent statewide average for September and nearly a full percentage point above the national average of 3.5 percent. The unemployment rate, which is based on a monthly household survey, didn’t change because the number of people entering the labor force looking for work was almost entirely offset by people reporting they had jobs. Roughly 7,000 people entered the labor force in L.A. County, bringing that total to 5.11 million, while 6,000 more people reported they were working, bringing the employment total to 4.88 million.