FACTORY JOB CUTS CONTINUE; LOSS OF LARGE DEFENSE CONTRACTS STILL PINCHES ANTELOPE VALLEY.

Byline: Jason Takenouchi Daily News Staff Writer

It was bad news, but it wasn't unexpected.

According to a new study by the nonprofit Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., manufacturing industry employment in the Antelope Valley declined by 7.6 percent or about 560 jobs from 1995 to the first quarter of 1998.

The area lost about 513 manufacturing jobs in a smaller dip from 1991 to 1995.

Analysts blame the decline on the downturn in the defense industry and the end of large government contracts.

``The main point of the loss is the reduction of defense contracts,'' said Howard Brooks, executive director of the Antelope Valley Board of Trade, a regional trade organization.

``We have always been very defense-dependent,'' he said. ``We're starting to get some nondefense-related manufacturing, but we still have a long way to go.''

But Stafford W. Parker, redevelopment director for the city of Lancaster, said an influx of manufacturers, such as recreation vehicle builder Rexhall Industries, is a good sign for the valley.

``I think the prospects for the future are a hell of a lot better than they were in the past,'' he said. ``We're seeing confidence in the market. We're seeing a growth in housing.''

The decline in manufacturing employment in the Antelope Valley came in marked contrast to growth in the nearby Santa Clarita Valley.

The Economic Development Corp. survey found that manufacturing employment in the Santa Clarita area increased to 11,031 jobs in the first quarter of 1998, a 22.4 percent increase over 1995.

Much of the growth in Santa Clarita's manufacturing sector has been in the Valencia Industrial Center and the Valencia Commerce Center, two industrial parks developed by The Newhall Land and Farming Company.

``With the industrial space that has been absorbed in the Valencia Commerce and Valencia Industrial Centers in the past several years, it's not surprising that there's strong growth in light manufacturing,'' said Marlee Lauffer, spokeswoman for Newhall Land. Since the period covered by the report, she said, ``There's been even more growth.''

Lauffer said commerce and industry on land sold by the company in Valencia in 1998 will probably 5,000 more jobs in the Santa Clarita Valley. About half of those jobs will be in the manufacturing sector, she said.

Antelope Valley boosters say recovery in their area has lagged because the economy was so heavily dependent on the defense industry that was slashed.

``It was more like a depression in this area,'' said Brooks of the Board of Trade. ``There was nothing to replace the defense jobs.''