Foothill Retail Corridor

This month’s entry focuses on the closures and layoffs of just Los Angeles County, rather than including nearby areas such as Chino or neighboring Orange County cities, simply because the list is growing too large.

What I find interesting in this list is the number of medical jobs being eliminated (City of Hope 185 employees and Antelope Valley Hospital 45 employees). Supposedly medical jobs are one of the growth industries. Not surprising, aerospace is taking another hit, with Ball (120), JPL (33) and Northrup (75) eliminating a total of 228 positions. With budget cutbacks and aerospace moving out of California, I think this trend will continue.

In my previous post I listed Los Angeles regional closures and layoffs. While that post indicates a Los Angeles region that is still suffering major job losses, a closer look at the cities that comprise the Foothill Retail Corridor (“FRC”) presents a healthier job situation overall, but with a wide disparity within the FRC communities.

Comparatively, the FRC has a lower unemployment rate (9.3%) than Los Angeles County (13.4%) and California (12.8%), but is closer to the national average of 9.7%. However, the cities that comprise the FRC range from a very low 4.1% in Sierra Madre to a high of 14.5% in Azusa.

Please note that these numbers are from the government and they may not add due to rounding. And, I have no idea how the city of Bradbury can have an employment base of 500 with all 500 employed and still achieve an unemployment rate of 8.1%! As they say, close enough for government work.

Monthly Labor Force Data - July 2010

CDP is “Census Designated Place” – a recognized community that was unincorporated at the time of the 2000 Census.

Source: California Economic Development Department