San Gabriel Valley Awash in Jobs

Employment in the San Gabriel Valley is running at a record level this year and is expected to soar even higher next year, fueled in part by construction of new industrial facilities, particularly distribution warehouses, local economists conclude in a report to be released today.

The hot job market in turn has touched off a consumer spending spree in the region, pushing estimates of taxable retail sales this year beyond $10 billion for the first time, according to the 27-page economic survey conducted by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.

Most of the area’s employment gains, however, have come in the lower-wage retail and services sectors. The report’s authors caution civic and business leaders in the swath of cities stretching from Pasadena to Pomona that more attention needs to be paid to training workers for higher-paying technology-related jobs or the region could see further erosion of its manufacturing base.

This year, the San Gabriel Valley’s manufacturing sector, which took a major hit during corporate restructuring earlier this decade, is expected to lose jobs for the first time in three years. Jack Kyser, senior economist at LAEDC, said cheaper overhead in other parts of Southern California has lured some manufacturers out of the area while sluggish demand for the region’s durable goods, particularly in Asia, has hurt others.

But while manufacturing lags, small business is thriving, the survey found. According to statistics from the most recent U.S. Census Bureau survey, more than half of San Gabriel Valley’s businesses employ no more than four people.

These findings and others are expected to be presented today to a gathering of regional business and community leaders in Industry.

As it has throughout the ‘90s, the valley’s service sector remains its top employer, accounting for nearly a third of its record-high 618,700 jobs. The ratio is expected to remain unchanged as the valley’s employment hits an estimated 634,100 jobs next year.

At the same time, employment in the area’s retail sector has rebounded from a 10-year low in 1995 to encompass 99,000 jobs this year, a 5% increase over last year. By the end of next year, San Gabriel Valley retailers are expected to employ 101,500.

Such job growth has made for tough times at temporary employment agencies such as Act 1 Personnel Services in Arcadia. Staffing manager Thomas Daniel said the job boom has shrunk Act 1’s pool of first-rate temporary workers at a time when demand is high.

“We’re experiencing a shortage in the quality of the individual out there looking for work,” he said. “But I think companies in general are having twice as hard a time as we are.”

Companies perhaps in every sector except manufacturing. Employment there is expected to fall by roughly 3,000 jobs this year and nearly 2,000 next year to account for 103,200 jobs. The sector, however, remains the area’s third-largest job provider.

Kyser said the region’s manufacturing sector is likely to get a boost once construction on roughly 2.3 million square feet of industrial space is completed. Among the uses being eyed for that space is a kind of distribution warehouse, called a logistics facility, where some secondary assembly and packaging is performed before goods are shipped to retailers.

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Manufacturing Base Erodes

The number of San Gabriel Valley manufacturing jobs is expected to decline next year, due in part to Asian economic difficulties and factory flight to cheaper communities.

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2000*: 103,200

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* Projection

Source: California Employment Development Department