Econowatch L.A. County
GENERAL INDICATORS
% + from
Latest Previous previous Year %+ from
month month month ago year ago
Employment (000's) (Nov.) 4,427 4,402 +0.6% 4,371 +1.3%
Unemployment (000's) (Nov.) 266 277 -4.0 315 -15.6
Help-wanted ads index (Oct.) 42 42 0.0 41 +2.4
Jobless-to-job ad ratio (Oct.)1 6.5 6.5 0.0 7.7 -15.6
Film permits (Oct.)2 2,625 2,679 -2.0 2,701 -2.8
Business failures (Dec.) 369 218 +40.9 244 +33.9
Bankruptcies
Chapter 7 (Oct.) 2,867 2,775 +3.3 3,663 -21.7
Chapter 11 (Oct.) 14 13 +7.7 24 -41.6
Exports (mils.) (Aug.) $5,677.6 $5,407.9 +5.0 $4,915.3 +15.5
Imports (mils.) (Aug.) $11,636.7 $11,476.9 +1.2 $10,452.6 +11.3
Air cargo4
LAX (Sept.) 195.3 176.5 +10.7 178.1 +9.7
Burbank (Sept.) 6.3 6.6 -4.5 6.8 -7.3
Los Angeles CPI (Nov.)5 167.1 167.2 -0.1 163.4 +2.3
Index of Leading Indicators (Oct.)6 101.3 101.5 -0.2 100.9 +0.4
Electricity Accounts (OOO's)7
Residential (Sept.)8 1,191.5 1,193.6 -0.2 1,177.2 +1.2
Commercial (Sept.) 172.0 175.2 -1.8 171.26 +0.2
Industrial (Sept.) 15.7 15.8 -0.6 16.0 -1.9
REAL ESTATE
Construction lending (mils.) (Sept.) $248.8 $192.8 +29.0% $329.3 -24.4%
Property acquisition lending (mils.) (Sept.) $2,287.3 $2,185.7 +4.6 $2,307.6 -0.9
Refinance lending (mils.) (Sept.)9 $4,737.9 $2,850.4 +66.2 $4,916.2 -3.6
Foreclosures
Number (Sept.) 1,353 1,417 -4.5 2,070 -34.6
Value (mils.) (Sept.) $191.6 $204.6 -6.4 $297.5 -35.6
Building contracts (mils.)
Residential (Oct.) $129.1 $167.9 -23.1 $172.3 -25.1
Nonresidential (Oct.) $157.6 $247.2 -36.2 $218.6 -27.9
Building permits (mils.)
Residential (Oct.) $248.0 $268.0 -7.5 $256.1 -3.2
Nonresidential (Oct.) $291.8 $290.8 -0.3 $276.8 +5.4
Housing start permits (Oct.) 935 1,159 -19.3 1,082 -13.6
Home sales (Sept.) 8,573 8,371 +2.4 8,042 +6.6
Home prices (000's) (Sept.) $198.5 $204.0 -2.7 $192.0 +3.4
Condo sales (Sept.) 1,639 1,502 +9.1 1,375 +19.2
Condo prices (000's) (Sept.) $177.0 $170.5 +3.8 $181.5 -2.5
Apartments (3rd qtr.)10
Gross occupancy 96.6% 94.6% NA 94.2% NA
Avg. sq. ft. rent $1.27 $1.25 +1.6 $1.18 +7.6
Avg. monthly rent $1,015 $1,010 +0.5 $901 +12.7
Office vacancy rates (3rd qtr.)11
Downtown L.A 19.7% 20.6% NA 21.2% NA
San Fernando Valley 10.5% 10.3% NA 9.8% NA
West L.A. 8.5% 9.8% NA 10.8% NA
South Bay 16.0% 16.4% NA 20.2% NA
Countywide 13.9% 18.7% NA 16.4% NA
Industrial vacancy rates (3rd qtr.)
Downtown/Central 1.3% 3.0% NA 5.0% NA
South Bay 4.5% 4.4% NA 5.2% NA
San Gabriel Valley 5.3% 5.2% NA 5.8% NA
TOURISM
% + from
Latest Previous previous Year %+ from
month month month ago year ago
Hotel occupancy rate (Oct.) 77.94% 73.29% NA 77.46% NA
Room rate (Oct.) $116.32 $109.19 +6.5% $110.46 +5.3%
Passengers
LAX (000's) (Sept.) 5,133.0 6,193.1 -17.1 4,913.5 +4.5
Burbank Airport (000's) (Sept.) 389.5 429.7 -9.4 378.4 +2.9
FOOTNOTES
1. Thousands of jobless to index point of job ads.
2. Film production days
3. Through Los Angeles Customs District.
4. In thousands of tons (LAX)/in millions of pounds
(Burbank).
5. 1982-1984=100.
6. An index of leading economic indicators--
CSU Long Beach
7. San Fernando Valley and metropolitan L.A. combined
8. Apartment and residential combined
9. Includes refinancings, second mortgages and
equity mortgages
10. Based on survey of major owners of apartment
buildings
11. Excludes available sublease space
NA means not applicable
BOLDFACE INDICATES UPDATED FIGURES
Sources: California State Employment Development Department (employment figures); The Conference Board, N.Y. (help-wanted ad index); Entertainment Industry Development Corporation Los Angeles Film Office (film permits); U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of Calif., Los Angeles (bankruptcies); Dun & Bradstreet (business failures); Economic Development Corporation, Los Angeles (exports, imports); City of Los Angeles Airport Department (LAX passenger traffic and air cargo); Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority (Burbank passenger traffic and air cargo); Bureau of Labor Statistics, Los Angeles (Los Angeles consumer price index); Office of Economic Research at California State University, Long Beach (index of leading indicators); First American Real Estate Solutions, Anaheim (construction lending, property lending, refinance lending, foreclosures, home sales, home prices, home prices per square foot, condo sales, condo prices); F.W. Dodge Division, McGraw-Hill (building contracts); Construction Industry Research Board (housing start permits, building permits); M/PF Research Inc. (apartments); Grubb & Ellis (office and industrial vacancy rates); PKF Consulting (hotel occupancy rate, room rate).
Edvard Pettersson
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