61,600 NEW JOBS ENRICH L.A. ECONOMY.

Byline: David Bloom and Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writers

The Los Angeles County economy produced approximately 61,600 new jobs last year, a net gain that reverses five years of job erosion, an economist said Tuesday.

The trend not only is stable, but is expected to accelerate, said Jack Kyser, chief economist of the nonprofit Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County.

An additional 88,000 are expected to be created this year, fueled largely by higher employment in the entertainment, information, high-tech, import-export, and service industries, Kyser told the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

The net gain in jobs contrasts to a net loss of 557,000 county jobs between December 1989 and January 1994, he said.

"We still have a ways to go but we're on our way back," Kyser said.

The county's unemployment rate is a relatively high 8.2 percent, for instance, he said. Also, the housing market probably will remain soft for at least another year, he said.

County supervisors and business leaders said they were encouraged by the report.

"It's long overdue," said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. "I thought the economy of this area would pick up long before this, but it's better late than never. Unfortunately, a lot of people went overboard in this extremely long recession."

Valley Industry and Commerce Association Vice Chairman Wayne Adelstein said he was cautiously optimistic about the report. He said the region must continue to recognize it is an economy in transition.

But Yaroslavsky and Supervisor Gloria Molina also said they were concerned whether the new jobs would pay as well as those lost from manufacturing and aerospace industries, once the county's economic backbone.

Kyser said that, in general, the new jobs are "good paying."

But, he added not all those looking for work have the training to get them.

In particular, he said, blue-collar workers who lost well-paying assembly line jobs and middle managers who lost their jobs in aerospace, banking, real estate or retail jobs may still be having trouble making the transition.

Mayor Richard Riordan today is scheduled to deliver a message on the state of the economy at the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange, and it is expected to mirror the findings presented to the supervisors.

According to top mayoral sources, Riordan will talk about thousands of jobs created in the city during his first term, attributing much of that gain to city efforts to attract and retain businesses that create high-quality jobs.

Riordan intends to point to companies that were influenced by his L.A. Business Team, the group in his office that works to draw and keep businesses, they said.

Riordan also is expected to announce a plan for more incentives for businesses to locate or expand here, including a 66 percent reduction in sewer hookups. Those reductions also will be available to residential developments.

Daniel Blake, an economist at Cal State Northridge, said that the recovery is indeed under way.

"Things are getting better. The growth is not phenomenal but it's picking up. I think Southern California turned the corner in '94 while most of California turned it in '93," he said. "But it's been a slow pickup."

Last month the state's Employment Development Department reported that the number of people working in California reached its highest point ever in January - and that all of the jobs lost during the recession had been recovered.

Kyser said the county has benefited by adapting its economy, and adding different kinds of businesses.

"We have a much more diverse economy now so that any one industry doesn't hold the fate of the county in its hands," he said. "We're moving into an information and international economy and are probably at the forefront of that nationally."