L.A. Unemployment Continues Climb

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In a sign the recession still has a firm hold on Los Angeles County, the jobless rate climbed to 11.6 percent in May, according to state figures released Friday.

The county’s unemployment rate rose from 10.9 percent in April.

More than 200,000 L.A. County residents have lost their jobs over the past year, according to household survey data from the state Employment Development Department. The jobless rate was 7.1 percent a year ago.

Statewide, the unemployment rate rose to 11.5 percent in May from 11.1 percent in March. The national unemployment rate stood at 9.4 percent in May.

The number of non-farm payroll jobs in Los Angeles County dropped by 14,500 in May from April to 3.9 million. Nearly 184,000 non-farm payroll jobs were lost between May 2008 and May 2009, a 4.5 percent drop, one of the steepest year-over-year declines on record.

The year-over-year job losses were across the board, with the manufacturing sector shedding 37,000 payroll jobs. Professional and business services were down 36,000 jobs, followed by construction, down 22,400 jobs. Other categories retail, transportation and warehousing, leisure and hospitality, media and entertainment each lost around 20,000 jobs.

Private education and health services continue to be the county’s only bright spots. Each gained about 6,000 jobs over the past year. But the private education sector shed 3,500 jobs between April and May as several private schools and universities finished their academic year.

The highly volatile motion picture industry lost nearly 8,000 jobs between from April to May, while professional and business services lost 5,700 jobs. State and local government employment remained flat between April and May.

Several cities in L.A. County continue to post unemployment rates approaching 20 percent, including Commerce, Compton and Bell Gardens. Both Los Angeles and Long Beach cities recorded 12.5 percent unemployment rates, matching their March highs.

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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.

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