Mixed Picture for L.A. Manufacturing

The Los Angeles Business Journal reports (may require registration):

A report released Wednesday by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. paints a mixed picture of Southern California’s manufacturing sector in 2005, noting it is still the nation’s leader despite continued jobs losses and the increasing scarcity of industrial land.

Los Angeles and the six other Southern California counties account for 916,000 jobs, making it the largest manufacturing region in the country as measured by employment, with even more jobs than any other state. Texas, the No. 2 industrial state nationwide, has nearly 900,000, while California as a whole has 1.5 million manufacturing jobs.

However, California is still loosing jobs at a faster rate than any other state, the report said. Since 1990, the state has lost a staggering 454,000 jobs, with Los Angeles County alone accounting for more than half of those losses (341,000); since 2001, the county has lost more than 100,000 jobs. The closest state in terms of job losses is New York, with just over 400,000, followed by Ohio with 342,000.