Unemployment

Karen S. Kim GLENDALE -- Unemployment rates dropped to 6.0%, or 6,120 people, in Glendale during February, from a January rate of 6.2%, following a countywide trend of falling unemployment rates. Rates across the board fell slightly in February, with unemployment rates dropping in Los Angeles County from 6.6% to 6.4%, or 314,300 people, between January and February, according to numbers released by the state Employment Development Department. "The drop this month is consistent with the nation and the state, and other economic indicators show that the economy as a whole is improving, so let's hope that's what this is," said Bill Freed, labor market specialist for the Employment Development Department.

Local unemployment rates edged up slightly in May, even as the motion picture and sound recording industries — major business drivers in the area — posted strong job growth, according to the latest figures released today. In Glendale, the unemployment rate increased to 10.6% in May, up from 10.3% the month before. The rate increased to 9.9% in Burbank, up from 9.7% in April, according to the California Employment Development Department. In the area served by the Verdugo Workforce Investment Board, which includes Burbank, Glendale, La Crescenta and La Cañada Flintridge, the unemployment rate was at 10%, far lower than the 12.3% for Los Angeles County.

Karen S. Kim Local unemployment rates neither rose nor fell during May, making it the third consecutive month the numbers remained unchanged. Los Angeles County's unemployment rate has held at 6.5% since March, while Glendale's rate of 6.1%. Burbank's rate of 4.5% also remained unchanged over the past three months. The trend is one that is in line with unemployment numbers in the region and state, Glendale labor market specialist Don Nakamoto said.

Local unemployment rates held steady in June, with numbers in Glendale and Burbank remaining under 10%, according to a report released today by the state’s Economic Development Department. While the percentage of job-seekers out of work stayed on par with May statistics in Glendale, Burbank, La Canada, La Crescenta and Montrose, the area’s workforce did shrink by a combined total of 200, according to the department. There are a total of 187,700 workers in the area, of which 17,000 cannot find jobs.

GLENDALE — Jobless rates in Glendale and Burbank are nearing 10%, continuing a steady rise from the start of the year, according to the latest figures released by the state. Unemployment rose to 9.9% in Glendale in March and 9.2% in Burbank, with a combined total of 16,000 job-seekers out of work among the two cities, said Olga Hernandez, labor market specialist for the Employment Development Department. The rates in the two cities were less than California’s record average of 11.2% in March, which was up from 10.6% in February, state figures show.

GLENDALE — Local unemployment rates held relatively steady in March, with jobless figures for Glendale and Burbank remaining below the rate for Los Angeles County, according to a report released Friday. Glendale’s unemployment rate improved slightly to 10.7% — down 0.1% from last month — while Burbank’s remained the same at 10%, according to monthly labor data released Friday by the California Employment Development Department. The data were not seasonally adjusted, which means they did not account for variables, such as temporary jobs.

Local unemployment rates fell slightly in October, even as jobless figures across Los Angeles County rose 0.2%, the state’s Economic Development Department reported Friday. Glendale’s unemployment rate dropped to 11%, from 11.1% in September. The unemployment rate in Burbank was 10.3%, down from 10.4% the month prior, according to the report. The jobless figure in the La Crescenta-Montrose area also declined 0.1% from September’s rate, to 5.8%, although it held steady in La Cañada Flintridge, at 4.7%, according to the department.

The San Fernando Valley ? the nation?s largest geographic non-municipal entity ? has grown more educated and diverse in recent years as it expanded to include 1.74 million people, according to a report released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau. The report was based on the American Community Survey of 2008 and shows that the region, made up of portions of Glendale, Burbank, San Fernando, Calabasas and Los Angeles, as well as some unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, has developed into a multicultural region, a trend that could be further amplified in the 2010 Census, experts said.

DOWNTOWN — New national unemployment figures released Friday reflect a trend seen locally — the days of sweeping job cuts may be ending, experts say. Although unemployment figures rose nationally in May — from 8.9% to 9.4% — only 345,000 jobs were lost nationwide, about half the average over the last six months, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The change was largely a result of a slowing pace of job cuts, which appears to have also occurred in Glendale and Burbank, experts said.

The employment picture improved in the tri-city area in April as every community saw its unemployment numbers drop, according to the latest state figures. Glendale and Pasadena reported the biggest jobless rate decreases, both coming in with 0.7% declines at 9.6% and 8.4%, respectively, according to statistics released today by the California Employment Development Department. Burbank was close behind with a 9% unemployment rate, a  0.6% drop from March. The strongest employment  growth  was reported in retail, employment services and utilities, according to the statistics.

While the state unemployment rate nudged down in January, local unemployment rates rose slightly throughout the tri-city region with retail, professional services and education shedding the most jobs. The unemployment rates in Burbank and Glendale increased by 0.4%, coming in at 9.8% and 10.5%, respectively, according to data released Friday by the California Employment Development Department. Pasadena saw its jobless rate go up to 9.2%, a 0.3% uptick from December 2010. Unemployment rates in San Marino and South Pasadena both edged up by 0.2% to 5.5% and 6%, respectively.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved today an extension of the payroll tax cut through 2012, extended unemployment compensation and prevented a reduction in physician reimbursements under Medicare. After the 293-to-132 vote, Rep. Adam Schiff , who voted for the legislative package, issued a statement, saying he was pleased with the outcome. “While our economy is making definite progress, we still have a long way to go,” Schiff said in his statement. “We can't afford to damage the fragile recovery when millions of Americans are still out of work and millions more are struggling to stay afloat.” He said the payroll tax cut extension will put almost $1,000 a year in the pockets of middle-class families through larger paychecks every month.

Local unemployment rates edged up slightly in December throughout the tri-city region, but figures held steady in a few communities. The jobless rates in Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, South Pasadena and San Marino all rose by 0.1%, according to data released Friday by the California Employment Development Department. In Burbank, the rate was 9.4% in December and it was 10.1% in Glendale. Pasadena saw its jobless rate nudge up to 8.9% and San Marino's rate was 5.3%. South Pasadena reported a 5.8% unemployment rate.

California's unemployment rate dipped below 12% in September, and nearly 12,000 new jobs were created. The jobless rate fell to 11.9%, from 12.1% in August, and was the best performance since June. "I'd say it's a good gain in jobs, better than what we've been getting," said Howard Roth, the chief economist with the state Department of Finance. Continue reading > > -- Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times Photo: Job searchers flip through listings at the Verdugo Jobs Center.

California's unemployment rate ticked up a notch in August, to 12.1% from 12% the month before, according to new data from the  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . Employers shed 8,400 jobs from payrolls. The numbers were little surprise to economists, who had anticipated no growth after national data showed that employers added no jobs nationally in August, when the U.S. unemployment rate stayed steady at 9.1%. "Businesses are very reluctant to hire people," said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at Cal State Channel Islands in Camarillo.

Local unemployment rates uniformly dropped in August, even as the number of jobless claims rose statewide, according to state data released today. In Burbank, the jobless rate dropped from 10.8% in July, to 10.3% in August, according to the state Economic Development Department. In Glendale, the rate dropped from 11.6% to 11.1% during the same period. The unemployment rate in Pasadena also dropped, from 10.2% in July to 9.7% in August, according to the state. INTERACTIVE MAP: Jobless figures by county Statewide, the unemployment rate actually increased during the same month-to-month period, from 12% to 12.1%, as employers slashed 8,400 positions last month, according to the Employment Development Department.

For the second straight month, unemployment rates in Burbank and Glendale have increased in lockstep, according to the latest jobs statistics released Friday. Burbank's rate climbed from 9.7% in May to 10.1% last month, according to the California Economic Development Department. Glendale saw the same four-tenths of a percent increase in June to 10.8%. In May, rates in both cities rose by one-tenth of a percent. The jump was slightly higher than California's unemployment rate, which edged up from 11.7% to 11.8% in June.

Employers in California added 28,800 jobs to payrolls in June, a surprisingly positive number amid a weak labor market nationally. The state's unemployment rate rose slightly, to 11.8%, from 11.7% the month before, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday morning. Click for a state-by-state map of unemployment rates California had lost 29,200 jobs in May, due in part to manufacturing sluggishness from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. The addition of jobs this month, though a surprise, is one more sign of the fickle nature of this economic recovery, economists say.  L.A. TIMES