L.A.’s economy appears to have slipped into recession as the job market was hammered in June and the unemployment rate hit 7 percent, according to figures released Friday by the state Employment Development Department.
Job losses mounted in entertainment, education and construction, sending the unemployment rate to its highest level since November 2003. The state unemployment rate hit 6.9 percent, also a five-year high.
“At the very least, we are now in a mini-recession,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. “All the negative forces in the economy are starting to hit home as consumers trying to make ends meet are cutting back on their spending.”
The county’s unemployment rate jumped three tenths of a point from May, and two whole points above the 5 percent rate in June of last year. The jump in unemployment was triggered by a sharp increase of 31,500 in the number of people in households reporting they were out of work compared to May.
There are now 347,800 county residents who report being unemployed, a 44 percent increase over a year ago. This number includes residents who are self employed or work on contract common in the entertainment industry and those who are off the books completely.
By contrast, businesses reported that they have only slashed 23,500 payroll jobs over the past year, giving the country a total of 4,114,000 payroll jobs only 0.6 percent lower than a year ago.
Construction posted the largest drop, shrinking by 11,600 jobs as all sectors of the industry took hits. The motion picture and sound recording industry lost 9,200 jobs as many positions were simply eliminated as a result of the writers’ strike earlier this year.
Financial services also took a big hit, losing 8,100 jobs as major mortgage lenders such as IndyMac and Countrywide slashed their payrolls over the past year. And manufacturing continued its long decline, losing 7,800 jobs in the last year.
“So many sectors are now struggling below their year-ago levels. It’s an avalanche of bad news,” Kyser said.
The health care sector continues to be one of the few bright spots as the population ages. It helped offset the decline as 8,400 health care workers were added to company payrolls in the last year. The leisure and hospitality industry gained 3,500 jobs as the cheap dollar has lured foreign tourists to the area.
