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Mayor Announces Record Job Growth

Posted on 02/01/2017
Mayor Garcetti with a group of People

LOS ANGELES — The number of jobs in Los Angeles has surged past pre-recession highs, and has even moved past the local economy’s peak before the civil unrest of 1992, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced today.

According to the UCLA Anderson Forecast, the local unemployment rate through October has also plunged below both pre-recession and early 1990s levels.

“Los Angeles’ economy is surging — we’re creating jobs, attracting new business and investment, and bringing greater access to economic opportunity for all Angelenos,” said Mayor Garcetti. “I am proud that the number of jobs in L.A. has surged past pre-1992 levels. Now is the time to keep the momentum going. We must continue investing in the people of our city, so that we can create new jobs and prosperity for years to come.”

Mayor Garcetti made the announcement today alongside Councilmember Mike Bonin and local business leaders at the headquarters of Dollar Shave Club — an L.A. tech startup that has created more than 250 local jobs and tripled in size over the last two years.

"Our local economy is thriving because we have a Mayor and City Council that have gotten back to basics and focused on cutting red tape and making each neighborhood a wonderful place to live and work," said Councilmember Mike Bonin. "I am not just proud of the record-setting quantity of jobs in our city, but also of the improving quality of those jobs. By working simultaneously on business-friendly initiatives like cutting the business tax, and worker-friendly policies like raising the minimum wage, we are showing how great cities can work and excel in the 21st century."

In the last three years alone, the economy has added nearly 135,000 new jobs — surpassing Mayor Garcetti’s first-term goal of 130,000 new jobs, six months ahead of schedule. During the same period, L.A.’s unemployment rate has plummeted — from more than 10 percent in 2013, to just above five percent.

The new employment numbers tell the story of a surging economy, with emerging sectors and new investment that are giving the economy even more room to grow in the coming years.

The local unemployment rate has not only dropped significantly in recent years, but vastly improved against the national average. When Mayor Garcetti took office in 2013, the local unemployment rate lagged behind the national average by nearly three points. That margin has diminished to less than half a point, with a local unemployment rate of 5.2 percent, as of October. The national average is 4.6 percent.

The employment milestones come amid a period of bold investment in economic growth and expansion across Los Angeles. The passage of Measure M in November — which allocates $120 billion to infrastructure investment — will create 465,000 jobs in the coming years.

Over the last three-and-a-half years, Mayor Garcetti has helped create jobs by streamlining development, and working one-on-one to help businesses that want to locate and create jobs in L.A. In addition, he has led the effort to cut the City’s gross receipts tax by 16 percent, a move that has saved more than $45 million for businesses.  The Mayor’s reforms at City Hall will continue to eliminate red tape, and make it easier to do business and create jobs in L.A.  

“The Los Angeles economy has made significant gains over the past three years, both in lowering the unemployment rate and increasing the number of payroll jobs in the City. Los Angeles now has more jobs than it did prior to the civil unrest of the early 1990s,” said Dr. William Yu, an economist with UCLA’s Anderson Forecast.  “Looking forward, human capital is the key to L.A.'s long-term prosperity. At the City level, it is important to continue focusing on policies that expand opportunity and invest in building a workforce that can compete in the 21st century. To achieve a shared prosperity, we should continue and create programs that help to reduce the human capital disparity across Los Angeles.”