Ranks of jobholders increase in October but still are off vs. 1991.

The number of people employed in Los Angeles County rose to 3.93 million in October, up from 3.91 million in September, though the total was off 2.6 percent from the year-ago figure, according to preliminary data from the state Employment Development Department.

The rise came on the heels of an upturn in employment from August to September. Economists stressed, though, that it takes three months of solid data to qualify as a trend.

The manufacturing sector, which has been dwindling since August 1990, declined to 735,600 workers in October. This represents a loss of 5,000 employees in a month's time.

According to Jack Kyser, chief economist at the L.A. County Economic Development Corp., "People don't realize the impact aerospace has on the economy."

The significant multiplier effect of aerospace jobs, he noted, adds to the hemorrhaging economy. The multiplier effect is the theory that for every one manufacturing job created, three more are created in other areas of the economy.

Thus, the decline in aerospace work, "affects the demand in business services," he said.

But, the atrophy of manufacturing jobs is expected to continue. Notably, Hughes Aircraft Co. says it plans to relocate its missile systems headquarters from the 1,900-employee Canoga Park plant to Tucson.

According to Lee Wooley, public relations specialist at Hughes Aircraft's Missile Systems sector, the headquarters relocation "doesn't involve the movement of people." The Tucson plant, which employs 4,000, has just been designated the new headquarters, she confirmed.

But, she did say that some administrative people could be moved and that a final decision on worker relocation could come in the first quarter of 1993.

Also experiencing a lengthy downturn, the construction sector weighed in with 117,600 workers, an 8 percent drop from the year-ago figure. Construction employment has been on steep spiral since June 1991, when 131,600 people were employed in that area.

TABULAR DATA OMITTED

There was a rise in services sector employment, up to 1.18 million in October from 1.17 million in September. Usually, when there are losses in goods-producing sectors, the number of jobs in the services industries swell.

And there were more jobs in all components of the services area for the month, except for the hotels and lodging places area. Hotel employment fell to 41,700 workers in October from 42,200 in the previous month. The industry, which has been on a long downward streak, posted 43,700 workers in October 1991.

According to Bruce Baltin, director of PKF Consulting in Los Angeles, "We will probably see a decline in hotel employment for some time." Baltin, whose firm specializes in tourism and hospitality consulting, said the primary factor in the drooping numbers is a lack of hotel profitability.

"There's been a decline in average room rates," he pointed out, meaning that "most major hotels are not profitable." Thus, most are cutting workers. He also noted that hotel employment usually lags the general economy by six months.

And October experienced a jump in the number of government employees, up to 540,900, from 531,300 in September. The rise, however, is seasonal, Kyser said. "Government hasn't really cut that much even though they have a bad budget situation," he noted.

The Los Angeles County labor force, the total number of employed and unemployed based on surveys of worker residences, was actually down in October to 4.55 million from September's 4.58 million.

With the ranks of the employed growing and the unemployed down slightly, the county unemployment rate for October was 9.5 percent. This was down from the previous month's rate of 10.4 percent.

The most recent unemployment rate for the county was for November 1992. It was 9.4 percent. For California, the November rate was 9.9 percent and nationwide the rate was 7.7 percent.