As the first bits of data emerge from an ambitious two-year study of the San Fernando Valley economy, officials are trying to figure out the best way to use the information.

It’s the first time they’ve had such data because no one actively tracks many of the region’s key economic indicators. And what numbers are available tend to be incomplete or out of date.

The analysis was conducted by the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, which will release the full results on Feb. 10 at its “Summit 2000” conference. “It will be everything you wanted to know about the Valley but never had anyone to ask,” said David Fleming, chairman of the alliance.

The data will be released as part of a report called the “Valley Almanac,” a compilation of economic data that delves into everything from consumer buying power to demographics.

A survey to be released as part of the summit shows that 86 percent of the 650 businesses responding to questionnaires consider their industries as growing or stable.

Financial and real estate firms anticipate the strongest gains, with about 60 percent expecting employment growth. That was followed by manufacturers and wholesalers about half of which expect growth.

Entertainment firms had mixed feelings about their prospects, with a third expecting employment increases and another third expecting to remain stable. Only 4 percent of those polled see their growth declining over the next several years, the survey found.

Members of the alliance hope the almanac will aid the Valley in its struggle for recognition and representation.

Robert Scott, the alliance’s executive vice chairman and a member of the Los Angeles Planning Commission, finds that many decisions affecting the Valley are made in a vacuum due to the lack of hard economic and social information.

“When we make decisions on zone changes and plan amendments, we aren’t giving thought to where we need commercial, industrial or residential property,” he said. “We don’t know what we need in terms of public policy because we don’t have the information, like how many jobs do we need here? Or what would be the appropriate place for industrial or commercial buildings, or are we concentrating poverty in one place?”

Officials say the data will back up their contention that the Valley, with 1.6 million people and more than 40,000 businesses, is an economic power in its own right.

“People have a tendency to think of the Valley as just a portion of L.A., but it’s a lot more than that,” said Scott. “Unfortunately, there are invisible walls that have kept us apart. We haven’t functioned together. It’s part of the mission of the alliance to change that.”

Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., is expected to release the details of an economic forecast tailored to the Valley at the Feb. 10 event.