The San Gabriel Valley economy will continue its robust growth this year, adding more than 10,000 jobs and increasing total payrolls by $1.2 billion, according to an economic forecast to be released Tuesday morning from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.
The San Gabriel Valley, which has a population of nearly 1.8 million and includes 31 cities – from Pasadena and Monterey Park on the west to Pomona and Claremont on the east – has been slower to recover from the recession than other parts of the county. But the region is finally poised to surpass its pre-recession peaks in jobs, payroll and taxable sales, either this year or next year, the report says.
By the end of this year, the valley is forecast to have nearly 666,000 jobs, a gain of 1.6 percent from the end of last year and just shy of the pre-recession peak of 675,000 jobs. The gains are expected in virtually every major industry sector.
Worker payrolls are expected to grow even more – nearly 4 percent – to $32 billion.
Housing will remain one of the region’s weak spots as only about 2,200 new housing units are forecast to receive permits, down from nearly 2,900 last year.
