L.A. Area Economic Forecast

February 23^rd , 2009

The 2009-2010 Economic Forecast and Industry Outlook
<http://contactbeacon.com/r.php?id=266449-810955> has been published by
the Kyser Center for Economic Research at the L.A. County Economic
Development Corporation.

This report details significant trends and projections for the economy
and major industries for the nation, California and the Southern
California region including L.A. County and the surrounding counties of
Orange, Riverside-San Bernardino, Ventura and San Diego. Economic trends
and projections include jobs, job growth, unemployment rates, personal
income, (total and per capita), retail sales, housing permits, median
price of housing, GDP (gross domestic product, both national and local),
and more. Industry trends and projections include health services
(bio-medical and other services), aerospace (commercial and defense),
financial services, tourism, film, and more. Demographic trends are also
presented (population change and net migration) in California and
Southern California areas.

Selected Findings:

* The U.S. economy is projected to contract by 2.9% in 2009, and
grow by 1.5% in 2010 (referenced on pg. 2).
* In 2008, the GDP (gross domestic product) of L.A. County was $491
billion, which was greater than Norway ($481 billion), Greece
($373 billion), or Argentina ($338 billion) (referenced on pg. 20).
* In 2009, L.A. County's unemployment is forecasted to average 9.8%,
with the second half of the year seeing unemployment at 10% or
greater (referenced on pg. 28).
* The largest job losses in L.A. County in 2009 will come from:
retailing (-25,000 jobs), and manufacturing (-21,000 jobs), as
well as construction (-18,000 jobs) (referenced on pg. 28).
* Per capita personal income for L.A. County is expected to average
$37,104 in 2009 – reflecting a decline by 3.6% from the previous
year (referenced on pg. 29).

Los Angeles County 2008 Children’s Scorecard

Los Angeles County 2008 Children's Scorecard has been published by the Children's Council of L.A. County.

This report, produced by the Children's Council of L.A. County, assesses the state of children in L.A. County using several measures of well being. These measures of well being address health and safety (such as teen birth rates, health insurance coverage), economic well-being (rate of children supported by Cal Works, youth employed), social and emotional well-being (youth on probation, youth in foster care), and education/workforce readiness (rate of high school graduates college ready, educational attainment of mother/father). The Scorecard contains historical data going back to 2002. Finally, data is also broken down by service planning area (or SPA).

Selected Findings:

• More than 4,000 children 5 years old and under are homeless on any given night in L.A. County (referenced on pg. 4).
• More than a third of parents of preschool aged children in L.A. County have trouble finding childcare that is both affordable and suitable in quality (referenced on pg. 4).
• The percent of children watching 3 or more hours of television a day (in 2006) was the most for SPA 1 (Antelope Valley) at 28.6% and lowest for SPA 5 (West L.A.) at 12.9% (referenced on pg. 3).
• Teen birth rates (among females ages 10 -17) in L.A. County went in the years from 2002 to 2006- from 9.1 per 1,000 to 8.3 per 1,000 (referenced on pg. 2).
• The (2006) child obesity rate (in grades 5, 7 and 9) was greatest in SPA 6 (South L.A.) at 28.9% and least for SPA 5 (West L.A.) at 16.6% (referenced on pg. 3).
• In L.A. County, about 92% of public school teachers (in 2006) were fully credentialed (referenced on pg. 3).