Los Angeles County Business Scan
The Kyser Center for Economic Research
Overall Outlook - Last Updated August 25, 2008
Click on any indicator for more details. Blue highlight : Recently updated
Indicator |
Most recent period |
Current reading |
Year earlier reading |
Annual % change |
Unemployment Rate |
July 2008 |
7.5% |
4.9% |
+2.6 pp |
Construction Employment |
July 2008 |
149,700 |
160,400 |
-7.2% |
Technology Employment |
July 2008 |
95,300 |
96,300 |
-1.0% |
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Employment |
July 2008 |
248,500 |
244,900 |
+1.5% |
Finance and Insurance Employment |
July 2008 |
158,700 |
166,300 |
-4.3% |
Health Services Employment |
July 2008 |
341,400 |
335,800 |
+1.7% |
Fashion/Apparel Employment |
July 2008 |
88,100 |
85,500 |
-2.6% |
Ocean Container Traffic (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) |
July 2008 |
1,261,862 |
1,363,747 |
-7.5% |
Airport Passenger Traffic |
June 2008 |
6,302,607 |
6,431,110 |
-2.0% |
Single Family Housing Construction Permits |
June 2008 |
278 |
716 |
-61.2% |
Multifamily Housing Construction Permits |
June 2008 |
626 |
1,032 |
-39.3% |
Median Home Prices |
June 2008 |
$396,560 |
$586,020 |
-32.3% |
Revenue per Available Room (REVPAR) |
June 2008 |
$129.61 |
$125.60 |
+3.2% |
Industrial Vacancy Rate |
2Q 2008 |
1.8% |
1.8% |
No change |
Film Production Days |
2Q 2008 |
17,405 |
13,965 |
+24.6% |
The Los Angeles County unemployment rate jumped in July from 12 months earlier to its highest level in over a decade. Employment losses were recorded in most major employment sectors. Container traffic at the combined Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles decreased in July; however, loaded outbound container traffic continued to post strong year-over-year increases. Demand for construction permits for both single-family and multi-family housing continue to decline in June from a year earlier. The median value of homes in Los Angeles County continued to decrease in June. Passenger traffic at the combined L.A.-area airports continued to decrease year-over-year in June. Revenue per available hotel rooms (REVPAR) continued to climb in June. The industrial vacancy rate in Los Angeles County remained unchanged in the second quarter of 2008 from a year earlier. Total film production days in the County increased in the second quarter 2008 from a year earlier.
Unemployment Rate  *Updated*
July 2008: 7.5 percent
July 2007: 4.9 percent
July was the fourteenth consecutive month that the Los Angeles County unemployment rate increased from a year earlier. The rate for July was the highest since February 1997 (also 7.5 percent). The County’s unemployment rate was above the California rate (6.9 percent) in June for the second consecutive month.
[View graph]
Source: California Employment Development Department (http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov)
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Construction Employment  *Updated*
July 2008: 149,700 employees
July 2007: 160,400 employees
Los Angeles County construction employment decreased by -7.0 percent in July compared to a year earlier. July marked the twelfth consecutive month of year-over-year declines in construction employment in the County.
[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 *Updated*
Technology employment in Los Angeles County decreased by -1.0 percent in July from 12 months earlier. The number of jobs decreased from a year earlier in both computer and electronic product manufacturing (-1.1 percent to 55,200) and internet services (-8.5 percent to 5,400). Employment was unchanged in computer systems design and related services (27,700) and increased in software publishing (+1.4 percent to 7,000) during the same period.
[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*
July 2008: 248,500 employees
July 2007: 244,900 employees
Professional, scientific, and technical services employment (excluding computer systems design and related services) in Los Angeles County increased by +1.5 percent in July from 12 months earlier. The reported year-over-year decrease in June in professional, scientific, and technical services jobs was revised to a +0.1 percent increase. Employment in this sector has increased year-over-year for 52 consecutive months.
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Source: California Employment Development Department (http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov)
Professional, scientific, and technical services is comprised of NAICS codes 54 (except 5415).
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Finance and Insurance Employment *Updated*
July 2008: 158,700 employees
July 2007: 166,300 employees
Finance and insurance employment in Los Angeles County in July decreased by -4.6 percent from a year earlier. July marked the nineteenth consecutive month of year-over-year decreases in finance and insurance employment, reflecting the continuing turmoil in the financial industry and for mortgage lenders. The amount of finance and insurance jobs in the County in June was the lowest since March 2002 (158,500).
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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 *Updated*
July 2008: 341,400 employees
July 2007: 335,800 employees
Health services employment in Los Angeles County increased by +1.7 percent in July from a year earlier. Employment increased in both health care (+1.7 percent to 335,400) and pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing (+1.7 percent to 6,000) 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 *Updated*
July 2008: 85,100 employees
July 2007: 85,500 employees
Fashion industry employment in Los Angeles County in July decreased by -2.6 percent from a year earlier. Jobs decreased in apparel manufacturing (-0.2 percent to 56,300), residual textile mills (-1.1 percent to 9,400), and in apparel wholesaling (-1.0 percent to 19,400) over the same period.
[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
July 2008: 1.364 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs)
July 2007: 1.262 million TEUs
Container traffic at the combined Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in July decreased by -12.1 percent from a year earlier. Year-to-date (YTD), container traffic has decreased by -7.6 percent to 8.9 million TEUs from the same period in 2007.
July was the twelfth consecutive month of year-over-year decreases in total container traffic at the combined ports. However, the traffic of loaded outbound containers has increased year-over-year every month since January 2005, reflecting strong demand for U.S. exports. The July total of 327,015 set the record for the most ever handled at the combined ports. YTD, loaded outbound containers have increased by 22.7 percent to 2.2 million TEUs compared to the first seven months of 2007.
Container traffic decreased in July both at the Port of Long Beach (-12.9 percent to 563,703 TEUs) and at the Port of Los Angeles (-2.5 percent to 698,159 TEUs) from 12 months earlier. YTD, container traffic fell by -9.4 percent to 3.778 million TEUs at the Port of Long Beach and by -6.1 percent to 4.473 million TEUs at the Port of Los Angeles compared to the first seven months of 2007.
[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 2008: 6.303 million passengers
June 2007: 6.431 million passengers
Passenger traffic for the combined Burbank, Long Beach, and Los Angeles airports decreased in June by -2.0 percent from 12 months earlier. June marked the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year decreases in passenger volume. Passenger traffic decreased by -9.5 percent at Burbank (to 485,087) and by -1.5 percent at Los Angeles (5.5 million) but increased by +3.1 percent at Long Beach (to 275,515) in June. Year-to-date (YTD), passenger traffic was down -2.1 percent to 34.0 million passengers compared to the first six months of 2007 at the combined airports.
Note: Regular passenger traffic at LA/Palmdale Regional Airport started in 2007. Passenger traffic total for flights to and from LA/Palmdale are included in the figures for Los Angeles.
[View graph]
Sources: Burbank (http://www.burbankairport.com), Long Beach (http://www.longbeach.gov/airport/airport_statistics/default.asp), and Los Angeles (http://www.lawa.org/lax/volTraffic.cfm) Airports
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Single Family Housing Construction Permits
June 2008: 278 permits
June 2007: 716 permits
Single family housing construction permits in Los Angeles County decreased by -61.2 percent in June from a year earlier. Single family housing construction permits have experienced year-over-year decreases every month since August 2006. Year-to-date, permits decreased by -53.8 percent compared to the first six months of 2007.
[View graph]
Source: Construction Industry Research Board (http://www.cirbdata.com/)
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Multifamily Housing Construction Permits
June 2008: 626 permits
June 2007: 1,032 permits
Multifamily housing construction permits in Los Angeles County decreased by -39.3 percent in June from 12 months earlier. Multifamily housing construction permits have decreased year-over-year for eleven consecutive months. Year-to-date, permits decreased by -28.2 percent to 5,007 from the same time last year.
[View graph]
Source: Construction Industry Research Board (http://www.cirbdata.com/)
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Median Existing Home Prices
June 2008: $396,560
June 2007: $586,020
The median price of existing homes in Los Angeles County decreased by -32.3 percent in June from a year earlier. June was the tenth consecutive month that median home prices decreased from a year earlier. The year-over-year decrease in June was the largest in percentage terms ever recorded since the data series began in January 1979. The median price in May was the lowest since March 2004 ($391,740).
[View graph]
Source: California Association of Realtors (http://www.car.org/)
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Hotel Revenue per Available Room (REVPAR) *Updated*
June 2008: $129.61 REVPAR
June 2007: $125.60 REVPAR
Hotel revenue per available room (REVPAR) in Los Angeles County increased by +3.2 percent in June from a year earlier. Occupancy rates decreased by -2.4 percent to 80.0 percent from 12 months earlier and average daily room rates increased by +5.7 percent to $162.04 over the same period. REVPAR has increased year-over-year in the County every month since June 2003.
[View graph]
Source: PKF Consulting (http://www.pkfonline.com/)
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Industrial Vacancy Rate - No change
Second quarter 2008: 1.8 percent
Second quarter 2007: 1.8 percent
The Los Angeles County industrial vacancy rate has remained below 2.0 percent since the second quarter of 2006. The County’s industrial market is one of the tightest markets in the country. The industrial vacancy rate in Central Los Angeles remained very low at 1.2 percent in the second quarter. Slowing manufacturing activity is showing signs of increasing industrial vacancies in some parts of the County like the South Bay.
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Source: Grubb & Ellis (http://www.grubb-ellis.com/research/reports.aspx)
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Film Production Days (Quarterly)
Second quarter 2008: 17,405 production days
Second quarter 2007: 13,965 production days
Total film production days in Los Angeles County increased by +24.6 percent in the second quarter of 2008 from the second quarter of 2007. Production increased for feature films (+11.0 percent to 2,837), television (+56.3 percent to 8,567 days) and commercials (+1.8 percent to 1,685 days). Feature film production activity accelerated ahead of possible labor action later this year.
[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, West Hollywood, Diamond Bar, Santa Clarita, South Gate, Angeles National Forest, and Los Angeles Unified School District facilities.
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