Employment in county off again with no real relief expected soon.

Employment in county off again with no real relief expected soon

Total employment in Los Angeles County dropped to 4.24 million in July, down 0.9 percent from June and off 1.3 percent from July 1990, according to the state Employment Development Department.

According to Jay Horowitz,

As expected, the manufacturing and construction sectors - two of L.A. County's major employment areas - were down compared to both the previous month and the previous year.

The number of workers in the construction industry dipped 0.8 percent in July compared to June but plunged 6.2 percent from July 1990.

In manufacturing, especially of durable goods such as metals, electronics and aircraft, jobs were off 5.8 percent from July 1990. In the transportation equipment sector, jobs plummeted to 134,000 in July from 156,000 in July 1990.

The state EDD estimated that from 1989 to 1990, employment in the guided missile and space vehicle sector dropped 10.5 percent, with job opportunities in other electronics-related areas slipping as well. For the first six months of 1991, the downtrend in the missiles sector continued with an average 13 percent cutback in jobs.

The only sector on the rise for July was transportation and public utilities, which grew 4.5 percent from June. But, along with the other areas, employment there was down on a year-over-year basis, by 0.3 percent.

The services industry, in continual fluctuation, was off slightly in July after a brief spurt in June. The area, in fact, is employing 2.4 percent more people than in July 1990. As jobs are cut in other industries, workers tend to gravitate toward the services sector, according to Horowitz.

The labor force figures, which measure all available workers - both employed and unemployed - gained 1.2 percent in July from June. The rise was strongest among the employed sector, which rose 1.1 percent.

The local unemployment rate, 8.6 percent for July, is up from June's 8.5 percent rate and significantly higher than the 5.4 figure in July 1990. Unemployment has risen steadily since March's rate of 6.9 percent and Horowitz estimated it will be up again for the third quarter.

Table : Los Angeles County employment

                     (by industry, in thousands)
                                  July 1991   June 1991   July 1990
Total employment                    4,243.0     4,280.0     4,298.5
Construction                          152.5       153.7       162.6
Manufacturing                         805.2       813.8       854.4
Transportation and public             220.8       219.8       221.4

utilities

Wholesale trade                       311.9       313.4       313.5
Retail trade                          644.5       645.6       657.7
Finance, insurance, real estate       290.0       290.7       293.0
Services                            1,273.3     1,274.2     1,243.8
Government                            523.7       547.5       530.5
Agriculture                            12.8        13.0        13.2
Mining                                  8.3         8.3         8.4

Source: California Employment Development Department