Los Angeles County saw a modest job increase of nearly 42,000 positions over the 12 months ending in June, translating to a growth rate of 0.9%, according to the latest state figures from the California Employment Development Department (EDD).
This figure marks a decline from the previous year’s growth, which saw 60,000 new jobs added and a growth rate of 1.3%.
Christopher Thornberg, founding partner of Beacon Economics, attributed the slowdown in job creation partly to a shrinking labor force in the county, which has contracted by more than 1% in the past year.
“Employers in certain sectors are struggling to find enough workers to fill positions,” said Thornberg.
Several factors contributing to this labor force decline include the high cost of housing, which is prompting residents to seek more affordable options outside of the county or state.
Rising labor costs further complicate the situation, as businesses face increased expenses when hiring.
Overall, Los Angeles County reported around 4,605,000 jobs on payrolls in June. The health care and social assistance sector stood out with a significant gain of nearly 48,000 jobs.
Thornberg noted that the aging population contributes to this demand for health care services.
However, he suggested that the growth is also influenced by increased Medicaid spending in recent years and a potential rise in home health care services.
Contrary to narratives of the film industry’s decline, payroll numbers in this sector increased by 7,300 jobs, reflecting a growth rate of 6.9% for the year ending in June.
“This contradicts media claims of doom and gloom for the industry,” Thornberg emphasized.
The film sector has historically been volatile, with periods of both growth and decline.
In contrast, the manufacturing sector experienced the most significant job reductions, losing 15,500 positions over the same year—60% of which were from the durable goods subsector, which encompasses machinery, aerospace products, and furniture.
Additionally, substantial job losses were reported in financial activities, construction, and professional/business services.
On a month-to-month basis, June saw a decline of about 6,500 jobs compared to May, reversing a prior gain of 13,000 jobs between April and May.
Seasonal declines in the education sector, coinciding with the end of the academic year, led to job losses that totalled 8,600 across private schools, K-12 public schools, and state universities.
The EDD also released seasonally adjusted payroll job figures for Los Angeles County, which showed a slight drop of 800 jobs in June, a negligible change compared to the overall total of approximately 4.6 million jobs.
The only other sector outside of education to see notable job decreases was employment services (staffing firms), with a loss of 5,000 jobs.
L.A. County’s unemployment rate remained steady at 5.8% in June, equal to the rate observed in the same month the previous year, and reflecting three consecutive months at this figure.
In June, the county’s labor force fell by around 1,000 to 5.07 million, while the number of employed residents rose by 1,000 to 4.78 million.
Those reporting unemployment decreased by 2,000 to 292,000.
Los Angeles County’s unemployment rate is higher than the statewide average of 5.4% and significantly above the national rate of 4.1%.
Thornberg linked this elevated unemployment rate partly to the high concentration of unskilled workers within the county’s job market.
The state’s $20 per hour minimum wage for the fast-food industry also plays a role, as rising labor costs lead employers to hire fewer workers.
As for the impact of federal immigration raids targeting undocumented immigrants, the timing of EDD data collection likely precluded immediate observation of significant effects on the job market.
The EDD also reported unemployment rates for the county’s 88 cities and several communities, although these figures are unadjusted for seasonal factors.
In the two largest cities, Los Angeles and Long Beach, the unemployment rates stood at 6.0% and 5.8%, respectively.
Among cities with a labor force greater than 10,000, Lomita recorded the lowest unemployment rate at 2.8%, while Calabasas had the highest at 8.6%.
Altadena’s unemployment rate, which refers only to the Malibu portion of the Palisades fire zone, was reported at 6.2% in June, up from 6.0% in the same month last year, while Malibu recorded a rate of 6.3%, significantly higher than 4.1% last year.
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