Public projects are being built, property owners are making investments and medical clinics are looking for new staff. It’s all part of thousands of new job opportunities for Southern California workers.
There were 107,100 jobs added in the last 12 months across Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday, Oct. 18. September continues a trend of job growth across most of the region that has lasted all year.
Statewide 320,000 jobs have been added in the last year, and the 4% unemployment is the lowest in California’s history.
“It’s hard to think about a jobs report that could be more positive,” said Manfred Keil, an economist at Claremont McKenna College and the Inland Empire Economic Partnership. “Some might expect the economic expansion to die of old age, but there’s no sign of that happening.”
The growth rate in the Inland Empire continued to outpace its coastal neighbors with 35,200 new jobs representing 2.3% growth. Construction jobs fell 1.3% in the last 12 months, with a loss of 1,400 jobs.
But contrary to the blue-collar reputation of the Inland Empire, the professional and business services sector grew by 4.6%, with 7,000 new jobs. “We’re excited about that,” Keil said. “We want more of these good jobs.”
Los Angeles County has added 50,600 jobs in the last 12 months, an increase of 1.1%. Construction employment increased by 7.8% in that period, with more than 10,000 new jobs.
Construction spurred growth in Orange County as well, with 3,300 new construction jobs, a 3% year-over-year increase. Overall Orange County saw 21,300 new jobs since September 2018, a 1.3% jump.
Unemployment declined across the region from the previous month. The rate fell to 4.5% in Los Angeles County from 4.8%; to 2.4% in Orange County from 3% and to 3.6% in the Inland Empire from 4.4%. Orange Couty’s unemployment is the fifth-lowest of the state’s 63 counties; the four with lower rates are all in the Bay Area.
Unemployment usually declines in August and September, mostly because schools and colleges reopen with bustling staffs. State reports are not seasonably adjusted to reflect seasonal hiring events.
Robert Kleinhenz, executive director of research at Los Angeles-based Beacon Economics and the UC Riverside Business Center of Economic Development and Forecasting, said much of the construction work involves infrastructure, including projects on freeways in Orange and Los Angeles counties.
Kleinhenz said that earlier in the year there was a spike in building permits for non-residential projects, up 11.3% in Orange County and 3.6% in Los Angeles County. It suggests commercial developers are investing in the region; some with existing buildings are looking to refurbish them.
“I know everyone had been talking about a recession that’s coming, but there’s no sign of one looming in California or in Southern California,” Kleinhenz said.
He added that despite the threat of trade disputes and tariffs, the number of transportation and warehousing jobs in the Inland Empire is up 3.6% in the last year to 133,800. That sector is up, albeit by less, in Los Angeles and Orange counties as well.
Here are some of the good and not-so-good bets for job hunters across the region:
In Los Angeles County, along with construction, growth was in social assistance (7.4%), colleges and universities (4.2%), leisure and hospitality (2.4%) and administrative and support services (2.2%).
Weaker sectors include local education (-10%), accounting and bookkeeping (-5.3%), telecommunications (-5.2%), and retail (-1.2%).
In Orange County, growth was in amusement and recreation (5.7%), property rental and leasing (3.6%), administrative and support services (3.5%) and professional and business services (2.4%).
Less job growth was seen in architectural and engineering (-5.1%), retail (-1.4%), corporate management (-1.1%) and local education (-0.5%).
In the Inland Empire, other strong sectors include ambulatory health care services (6.5%), finance (2.6%), leisure and hospitality (2.5%), and state and local government (2.4%).
Declines were in building supply stores (-4.9%), repair and maintenance services (-2.9%), and accommodations (-0.6%).
