Los Angeles County loses jobs, but is still top manufacturing center in the U.S.
March 27, 2007 (Press Release) --
Los Angeles—There were mixed trends in manufacturing in Southern California during 2006, according to “Manufacturing in Southern California,” which was released today by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) in conjunction with the WESTEC Manufacturing Technology Exposition and Conference at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
“Orange and Ventura Counties, and the Riverside-San Bernardino area all added factory jobs during 2006, which was counter to the national trend,” said Jack Kyser, Chief Economist, LAEDC. “However, Los Angeles County saw 9,400 factory jobs disappear from 2005 to 2006. Despite this, Los Angeles County was still the nation’s number one manufacturing center. Its 2006 manufacturing employment average of 462,300 jobs was well ahead of number two Chicago’s average of 390,200 jobs. Detroit remained in third place with 268,800 jobs.” The latter two areas also experienced job losses.
The LAEDC report calculated that there were 911,000 manufacturing jobs in Southern California during 2006 (this region is defined as the Los Angeles five-county area plus San Diego County). “This would make the area the nation’s third largest manufacturing ‘state,’ behind California (1,505,000 jobs) and Texas (926,000 jobs),” noted Kyser. “What are the implications of this large factory workforce,” asked Kyser. “This sector represents a huge market for all types of suppliers (goods and services) and means that local manufacturers can find inputs right in their backyard.”
The LAEDC report highlighted some important realities about manufacturing:
- Manufacturing jobs do not tell the whole story of what’s going on in the sector. Firms have made a heavy push to raise productivity by investing in plant and equipment and by using temporary help. Thus, manufacturing output has held at high levels despite the decline in employment.
- When you say manufacturing, most people tend to picture factories belching smoke and unpleasant odors. The reality is that manufacturing in S3outhern California tends to be small-to-medium sized firms often in high-tech type of activities.
- Manufacturing tends to have a higher job “multiplier,” meaning that more indirect jobs in other industries are supported by every direct position in manufacturing.
- Local manufacturing firms are under heavy competitive pressure, often from off-shore production. Many are being wooed by other states who point out the high cost of doing business in California.
(More)
Despite the up-tick in jobs seen in some local areas, manufacturing faces lots of challenges. One will come from AB 32, the state’s greenhouse gas legislation. Determining the full impact of this could bring some unpleasant and costly surprises.
The other chall
Los Angeles—There were mixed trends in manufacturing in Southern California during 2006, according to “Manufacturing in Southern California,” which was released today by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) in conjunction with the WESTEC Manufacturing Technology Exposition and Conference at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
“Orange and Ventura Counties, and the Riverside-San Bernardino area all added factory jobs during 2006, which was counter to the national trend,” said Jack Kyser, Chief Economist, LAEDC. “However, Los Angeles County saw 9,400 factory jobs disappear from 2005 to 2006. Despite this, Los Angeles County was still the nation’s number one manufacturing center. Its 2006 manufacturing employment average of 462,300 jobs was well ahead of number two Chicago’s average of 390,200 jobs. Detroit remained in third place with 268,800 jobs.” The latter two areas also experienced job losses.
The LAEDC report calculated that there were 911,000 manufacturing jobs in Southern California during 2006 (this region is defined as the Los Angeles five-county area plus San Diego County). “This would make the area the nation’s third largest manufacturing ‘state,’ behind California (1,505,000 jobs) and Texas (926,000 jobs),” noted Kyser. “What are the implications of this large factory workforce,” asked Kyser. “This sector represents a huge market for all types of suppliers (goods and services) and means that local manufacturers can find inputs right in their backyard.”
The LAEDC report highlighted some important realities about manufacturing:
- Manufacturing jobs do not tell the whole story of what’s going on in the sector. Firms have made a heavy push to raise productivity by investing in plant and equipment and by using temporary help. Thus, manufacturing output has held at high levels despite the decline in employment.
- When you say manufacturing, most people tend to picture factories belching smoke and unpleasant odors. The reality is that manufacturing in S3outhern California tends to be small-to-medium sized firms often in high-tech type of activities.
- Manufacturing tends to have a higher job “multiplier,” meaning that more indirect jobs in other industries are supported by every direct position in manufacturing.
- Local manufacturing firms are under heavy competitive pressure, often from off-shore production. Many are being wooed by other states who point out the high cost of doing business in California.
(More)
Despite the up-tick in jobs seen in some local areas, manufacturing faces lots of challenges. One will come from AB 32, the state’s greenhouse gas legislation. Determining the full impact of this could bring some unpleasant and costly surprises.
The other chall
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