Who’s Who Among Local Employers
The fattest payrolls belong to government organizations, which make up the top five employers in the region. Boeing stands as the sole aerospace firm in the most recent top 20 rankings. Another striking fact: Only two of the private employers on the 1998 list are wholly owned companies based in the five-county area--Walt Disney and USC. In 1991, there were eight such companies based here.
Top Employers in the Southland
1998
Employer: No. of workers
1. Los Angeles County: 86,616
2. Los Angeles Unified School District: 65,331
3. U.S. government: 52,274
4. University of California: 49,600
5. U.S. Postal Service: 41,426
6. Boeing: 33,700
7. City of Los Angeles: 33,290
8. Kaiser Permanente: 28,575
9. Ralphs Grocery: 25,523
10. American Stores (Lucky, Sav-on): 23,525
11. Walt Disney: 23,225
12. Bank of America: 22,144
13. Safeway (Vons): 20,459
14. Sears: 20,150
15. Tenet Healthcare: 19,445
16. Defense Department: 19,000
17. USC: 17,800
18. Dayton-Hudson (Target, Mervyn’s): 15,953
19. Pacific Telesis Group: 15,860
20. California State University: 15,675
*
1991
Employer: No. of workers
1. Los Angeles County: 78,275
2. McDonnell Douglas: 62,701
3. U.S. government: 59,983
4. Los Angeles Unified School District: 58,538
5. Northrop: 40,000
6. Rockwell International: 34,900
7. Lockheed: 34,619
8. Sears: 29,658
9. Los Angeles County college district*: 28,431
10. Hughes Aircraft: 27,492
11. City of Los Angeles: 27,000
12. American Stores: 24,370
13. Pacific Telesis Group: 21,563
14. Vons: 20,654
15. Pacific Enterprises: 20,354
16. Walt Disney: 20,000
17. Kaiser Permanente: 19,199
18. Bank of America: 19,000
19. TW Services: 17,820
20. TRW: 17,730
Note: Southland comprises Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.
*Includes L.A. and other community college districts.
Source: Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County
