60 F
Los Angeles
Saturday, Apr 12, 2025

L.A.’s Jobless Rate Falls to 11.4 Percent

Los Angeles County’s jobs picture improved in May as the unemployment rate dipped to 11.4 percent and the county added nearly 12,000 jobs, according to figures released Friday.

The county’s unemployment rate fell last month from 11.6 percent in April, the state Employment Development Department reported. The decline bucked the trend of increased seasonal unemployment as schools let out and people look for summer jobs. The rate has fallen nearly a full percentage point from the 12.3 percent level recorded a year ago.

However, L.A. County’s unemployment rate still exceeds the statewide average of 10.8 percent and is far above the national rate of 8.2 percent.

Locally, the county’s two largest cities – Los Angeles and Long Beach – posted unemployment rates of 12.2 percent, down from 13 percent earlier this year.

The jump in the county’s payroll jobs was led by a surge in hiring at local eateries, which added 6,500 jobs. Unlike the unemployment figures, which are derived from a household survey, the payroll jobs data come from a sampling of local company payroll filings with the state.

Two sectors that have struggled recently rebounded in May: Local manufacturers add 2,800 jobs – mostly in nondurable goods such as food and clothing – and construction added 2,100 jobs.

The private education sector posted the largest drop in May payroll jobs, 3,300, as many private schools let out for the summer.

Howard Fine
Howard Fine
Howard Fine is a 23-year veteran of the Los Angeles Business Journal. He covers stories pertaining to healthcare, biomedicine, energy, engineering, construction, and infrastructure. He has won several awards, including Best Body of Work for a single reporter from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers and Distinguished Journalist of the Year from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Featured Articles

Related Articles

Author ' + // image style settings '
' + 'tagDiv image style' + '' + '
' + ''; //inject our settings in the template - before
td_template_content = td_template_content.replace('
', td_our_content + '
'); //save the template jQuery('#tmpl-image-details').html(td_template_content); //modal off - click event jQuery(document).on( "click", ".td-modal-image-on", function() { if (jQuery(this).hasClass('active')) { return; } td_add_image_css_class('td-modal-image'); jQuery(".td-modal-image-off").removeClass('active'); jQuery(".td-modal-image-on").addClass('active'); }); //modal on - click event jQuery(document).on( "click", ".td-modal-image-off", function() { if (jQuery(this).hasClass('active')) { return; } td_remove_image_css_class('td-modal-image'); jQuery(".td-modal-image-off").addClass('active'); jQuery(".td-modal-image-on").removeClass('active'); }); // select change event jQuery(document).on( "change", ".td-wp-image-style", function() { switch (jQuery( ".td-wp-image-style").val()) { default: td_clear_all_classes(); //except the modal one jQuery('*[data-setting="extraClasses"]').change(); //trigger the change event for backbonejs } }); //util functions to edit the image details in wp-admin function td_add_image_css_class(new_class) { var td_extra_classes_value = jQuery('*[data-setting="extraClasses"]').val(); jQuery('*[data-setting="extraClasses"]').val(td_extra_classes_value + ' ' + new_class); jQuery('*[data-setting="extraClasses"]').change(); //trigger the change event for backbonejs } function td_remove_image_css_class(new_class) { var td_extra_classes_value = jQuery('*[data-setting="extraClasses"]').val(); //try first with a space before the class var td_regex = new RegExp(" " + new_class,"g"); td_extra_classes_value = td_extra_classes_value.replace(td_regex, ''); var td_regex = new RegExp(new_class,"g"); td_extra_classes_value = td_extra_classes_value.replace(td_regex, ''); jQuery('*[data-setting="extraClasses"]').val(td_extra_classes_value); jQuery('*[data-setting="extraClasses"]').change(); //trigger the change event for backbonejs } //clears all classes except the modal image one function td_clear_all_classes() { var td_extra_classes_value = jQuery('*[data-setting="extraClasses"]').val(); if (td_extra_classes_value.indexOf('td-modal-image') > -1) { //we have the modal image one - keep it, remove the others jQuery('*[data-setting="extraClasses"]').val('td-modal-image'); } else { jQuery('*[data-setting="extraClasses"]').val(''); } } //monitor the backbone template for the current status of the picture setInterval(function(){ var td_extra_classes_value = jQuery('*[data-setting="extraClasses"]').val(); if (typeof td_extra_classes_value !== 'undefined' && td_extra_classes_value != '') { // if we have modal on, switch the toggle if (td_extra_classes_value.indexOf('td-modal-image') > -1) { jQuery(".td-modal-image-off").removeClass('active'); jQuery(".td-modal-image-on").addClass('active'); } } }, 1000); })(); //end anon function -->