Despite the downturn, the pace of new leases or office expansions in L.A. County barely slowed last year, according to figures released Wednesday from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

However, the figures did not include the amount of space that went back on the market when companies downsized or closed. Those figures show that vacancy rates increased year over year.

In 2008, 98 companies signed leases of at least 20,000 square feet or $1 million in annual value in L.A. County, down from 100 such leases in 2007. The numbers include new leases or expansions of existing leases.

The total square footage of these leases rose 13 percent in 2008 to 7.6 million square feet.

Office vacancy rates rose from 9.7 percent at the end of 2007 to 12 at the end of 2008, according to figures provided to the Business Journal from Grubb and Ellis Co., meaning that the space coming onto the market exceeded space being absorbed in new or expanded leases.

Nonetheless, Los Angeles significantly outperformed the rest of the Southern California region, which saw a 14 percent reduction in the number of major expansion leases signed and a 25 percent drop in the total square foot leased, led by major drops in Orange County and the Inland Empire.

“That L.A. managed to hold its own last year while the rest of the region was in a slump was surprising,” said Jack Kyser, founding economist of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. and one of the study authors.

Kyser said that the relatively strong performance of the trade sector during the first half of 2008 was a major reason behind the steady leasing activity. “A lot of warehousing and distribution space got snapped up, particularly early in the year,” he said.

Grubb and Ellis figures showed industrial vacancy rates in the county also increased, from 1.5 percent at the end of 2007 to 2.2 percent at the end of 2008.