Unemployment rate drops again

Karen S. Kim

GLENDALE -- Unemployment in Glendale declined by 0.1% for the second

month in a row during December 2001, but Don Nakamoto, city labor market

specialist, said it’s still too soon to call the decline a trend.

“You would probably have to see it move pretty substantially up or

down at least a percentage point over a six-month period,” Nakamoto said.

“Then you could conclude the momentum is going in one direction or

another.”

Glendale’s unemployment rate in December fell from 5.5% in November to

5.4%, or 5,480 people, according to numbers released by the California

Employment Development Department.

Numbers dropped across the area last month in Los Angeles County,

Burbank and La Crescenta-Montrose.

December unemployment dropped to 6.1% from 6.2% for the county, fell

from 4.1% to 4.0% in Burbank and declined from 3.1% to 3.0% in La Crescenta-Montrose.

“Well, there is a lot of hiring that occurs during the holidays in the

retail sector,” Nakamoto said. “That could affect unemployment.”

Another reason why unemployment hasn’t risen in Glendale despite an

ongoing recession is the city’s diverse business base, Nakamoto said.

“They’re not dependent on one or two industries here,” he said. “And

they have a strong retail sector, which has held up even nationally.”

OUT OF WORK

Unemployment rates provided by the Employment Development Department

November 2001

area*labor force*unemployment rate

Los Angeles County*4,953,200*6.2%

Glendale*102,280*5.5%

La Crescenta-Montrose*10,613*3.1%

Burbank*57,970*4.1%

December 2001

Los Angeles County*4,915,600*6.1%

Glendale*101,510*5.4%

La Crescenta-Montrose*10,220*3.0%

Burbank*57,560*4.0%