CITY COMMISSIONS COMMUTER-WORK SURVEY OBJECT: LURING JOBS TO ONE-TIME 'BEDROOM COMMUNITY'.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - A city-commissioned phone survey is under way to figure out what kinds of jobs commuters head to each day, with the goal of luring those industries to Santa Clarita.

The city hired a consulting company to analyze the local labor base and determine if any particular industries were drawing local residents to jobs outside the area.

``With all the commuters leaving the area, we want to see where they are going, the kinds of skills they have,'' said Carrie Rogers, Santa Clarita's marketing and economic development manager. ``There might be industry clusters our residents are into. The question is, can we bring those kinds of jobs here?''

The study comes as Santa Clarita enjoys an impressive 6 percent job growth projected to continue through next year. The Los Angeles Economic Development Commission released its midyear jobs forecast last week and found Santa Clarita leading the county in employment growth.

The commission's chief economist, Jack Kyser, said the growth industries appear to be biomedical and aerospace. And he said Santa Clarita is making a partial transition from bedroom community to a destination for ``reverse commuters'' who head north to jobs from the traditional employment bases.

Still, tens of thousands of residents clog local freeways daily heading south to jobs, likely in the San Fernando Valley region and toward downtown Los Angeles, Rogers said.

``We're excited about the growth, but we still have work to do,'' she said. ``One of our goals for the next number of years is to work to decrease the number of commuters still leaving.''

The survey is expected to be completed this month and the data filed into a report by October.

``No one wants to commute, so if we can bring those high-quality, high-paying jobs here, it really improves the quality of life when you work where you live,'' Rogers said.

In addition to the survey, consultants are evaluating the existing business base. Santa Clarita has been successful in luring business to the city because there is no business tax, but the downside is that the city has little data about the industry in the area.

``We're not gathering all that information through a business license system, so we don't have an accurate picture as to whether clusters are emerging,'' she said. ``We'll use that information to put together a business retention plan.

``I think we're going to be amazed when we find out the details, what is here that we don't really know about.''

Patricia Farrell Aidem, [phone]

pat.aidem(at)dailynews.com