BOOM ECONOMY LOST ON MANY, STUDY SAYS.

Byline: David R. Baker Daily News Staff Writer

Revealing Southern California's uneven economic recovery, a study released Thursday found that Los Angeles residents earn less than the national average, even as the region's economy has grown to be one of the world's largest.

The study by the Southern California Association of Governments also showed that Los Angeles County lags behind the rest of the region in recovering from the recession, but leads the nation for imports and exports.

The report is the first comprehensive attempt by the regional planning agency to gauge the quality of life in metropolitan Los Angeles. Researchers analyzed business growth, trends in education and environmental health, and other indicators.

``It should give us great worry, with the per-capita income drop and the educational challenges ahead of us,'' said SCAG President Bob Bartlett. ``If we don't do something about those, we may have trouble competing with other metropolitan areas in the future.''

The report found plenty to please, and alarm, area residents.

The Los Angeles region has become the nation's leading import and export hub, fed by growth in trade with Asia. Only two other metropolitan areas in the world - Tokyo and New York - have larger economies.

But looming problems remain with water pollution, traffic congestion and education. Among major American cities, only Detroit has a lower percentage of college-educated residents.

``It's kind of a road map of where we are and where we need to go,'' said SCAG officer and Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson.

The report, which took a year to compile, shows that even after years of recovery, the recession's scars linger. The drop in average individual income, for example, can be tied to the local economy's shift away from manufacturing jobs and toward service jobs, although Los Angeles remains the nation's largest manufacturing center, the study says.

Even traffic congestion seemed affected by the recession, decreasing during the early 1990s, only to rise again during the last few years.

Not all of the recession's effects were entirely negative. The steep drop in home prices may have hit Angelenos hard, but it rendered the area more affordable to people moving in from elsewhere.

Before the recession, the report's authors note, the area's pricey cost of living made it difficult for local companies to hire employees from other parts of the country.

The association - which covers Los Angeles, Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties - itself has little power to act on the report. Existing mainly to coordinate the efforts of local governments on regional issues, the group cannot force its members or the state to take specific steps.

But Bartlett, who also serves as the mayor of Monrovia, said that since SCAG's officers include more than 70 officials from local city and county governments, they can press for action on the report's findings.

``As far as I know, we are the largest body of elected officials in the state, outside of the legislature,'' he said. ``If we can't get someone to pay attention, no one can.''

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Chart: A REGIONAL ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT

SOURCE: California Department of Finance, SCAG database and Consulting Economist Arthur J. Shaw

Bradford Mar/ Daily News