L.A. County’s unemployment rate fell again last month to 12.3 percent from 12.6 percent in February as fewer people were looking for work.
The unemployment rate has fallen seven tenths of a point since peaking at 13 percent in January. But unlike in February, the March drop was not due to an improving jobs picture; rather, discouraged residents gave up looking for work, which led to a drop of 17,000 in the county’s labor force.
The county’s two largest cities, Los Angeles and Long Beach, posted unemployment rates of 13.4 percent in March, down from a peak of 14 percent in January.
Statewide, the unemployment rate edged down to 12 percent in March from 12.1 percent in February. The national unemployment rate dropped to 8.8 percent in March from 8.9 percent in February.
The unemployment rate is calculated from a survey of households in Los Angeles County, while industry job statistics come from a survey of employer payrolls.
And the news was not as good on the payroll jobs front. Job growth in the county came to a halt in March as total nonfarm jobs of 3,791,800 remained essentially unchanged from February. But when adjusted for seasonal factors, payroll jobs actually fell by nearly 18,000, according to Los Angeles-based Beacon Economics.
Gains in the leisure and hospitality sector and K-12 school employment were offset by drops in administrative and support services and a slight drop in entertainment industry jobs.
In the leisure and hospitality sector, the gains appear to be coming mostly in administrative and support services, not entry level jobs, according to Mara Klug, regional vice president for Adecco USA Inc., a staffing firm.
“We’re seeing a pickup in hiring of administrators and other staff, especially at hotels, casinos and theme parks,” she said. “Rising gas prices are prompting people to take so-called ‘staycations’ closer to home.”
Over the last 12 months, the county gained 31,000 payroll jobs, led by health care, private education, professional and business services and the entertainment sector. Those gains were partially offset by sharp drops in local government employment and construction.
