Los Angeles: Economic Performance

There are many areas in which the LA economy is proving to be undergoing an enhanced performance than it has done in many years.  The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) has just put together a report forecasting that the GDP in the area is actually on a more escalated growth spurt than the average of the entire country.

With an unemployment rate of less than 5 percent (which is still decelerating and some say could drop to as low as 4.1 percent by as soon as next year), economists believe that the next two years will see even more solid growth. Which is quite incredible when you look back to the figure of 12.5 percent in 2010.  Even though some people might not be in the best-paying most stable jobs, economists are quick to point out that when unemployment jumps to such a low rate, employers will need to offer higher pay for workers.

Still, Somjita Mitra – an LAEDC economist and one of the report’s contributors – said wages are likely to continue growing “slowly but steadily as the labor market continues to tighten.”  Most of the job growth is however, in the low-education/wage sector with a loss of around 111,000 manufacturing jobs since 2007 that paid “a middle class annual salary of approximately $68,000.”

And then there is the increase in housing prices which complicates matters further.  Still, these statistics have to indicate a reason for optimism.