Local unemployment rates rise slightly

Local unemployment rates continued to edge up slightly in June, with construction and manufacturing sectors dragging down gains in the entertainment-related industries, according to figures released Friday.

The June unemployment rate in Glendale was 10.7%, up from 10.6% in May, according to the California Employment Development Department. In Burbank, the rate rose to 10% from 9.9%.

The rates were better than those for the state and Los Angeles County.

Unemployment figures — adjusted for seasonal or temporary workers — for Los Angeles County remained at 12.2% in June, according to the state Employment Development Department. Statewide, the jobless rate fell from 12.4 % to 12.3%.

The slight uptick was similar in La Crescenta, where the unemployment rate went from 6% in May to 6.1% in June. In La Cañada Flintridge, the rate climbed slightly to 4.8%, from 4.7% in May.

Figures for the Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale metropolitan areas showed sizable year-over-year gains in the entertainment and information sectors, but losses in construction and manufacturing.

Nearly 22,000 jobs have been added in the motion picture and sound recording field since June 2009, an 18.4% gain, according to the report. Last month, the industry added 2,000 jobs, up 1.5% from the prior month.

The retail sector slipped slightly since last June, shedding 5,400 jobs, or 1.1 % of the regional retail workforce.

Jack Kyser, a consulting economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., said the entertainment industry is getting a boost from increased advertising and state incentives to base movie productions in California.

“A lot of pilots and shows are being ordered by the broadcast and cable networks,” Kyser said. “We’re on a roll in terms of the motion picture industry.”

Education, health services and government jobs in the region dropped most, according to the unemployment report.

Kyser said the termination of hundreds of thousands of U.S. Census Bureau employees hurt overall job growth.

In the private sector, he said, “certain industries are starting to bottom out in terms of year-to-year job loss. We are making the turn, but it is going to be a slow and challenging recovery.”