Employment picks up in region

The employment picture improved in the tri-cities area in September, according to California Employment Development Department figures released Friday.

The unemployment rate in Burbank is 10%, down from 10.3% in August. In Glendale the rate fell from 11.1% in August to 10.7% in September. Pasadena’s unemployment rate dropped from 9.7% to 9.4% in the last month.

The region remains in better economic shape than Los Angeles County and the state as a whole. In Los Angeles County the unemployment rate is 12.2%, down half a point from the prior month. The California unemployment rate is 11.9%, down from 12.1% in August.

Statewide, the biggest job gains in September were in health and educational services, while local government agencies also added people to their payrolls. Manufacturing and financial service firms shed jobs in the month.

Motion picture and sound recording dropped 2,400 jobs from August to September, though radio and TV broadcasting gained 300 jobs. The state gained 3,400 retail jobs in the month, according to the EDD. The civil engineering field added 400 jobs.

In La Canada Flintridge, the unemployment rate dropped from 5% to 4.8%.

In La Crescenta, the unemployment rate dropped from 6.3% to 6.1%.

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--Bill Kisliuk, Times Community News

Twitter: @bkisliuk