SOUTHLAND SHOWS STRENGTH ECONOMIC FORECAST ROSY FOR '06; VALLEY HOT.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer Building on last year's momentum, Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County's economy will show its strongest growth in five years during 2006, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a forecast being released today. The report by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. predicted that the Inland Empire In·land Empire A region of the northwest United States between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, comprising eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, northern Idaho, and western Montana. Farming, lumbering, and mining are important to the area. and Ventura County will lead the way with the economic linchpins this year and next including international trade, tourism, high technology/aerospace and commercial construction. The San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. will likely outpace the rest of Los Angeles in job growth, according to other experts. The county's economy rates a B+ for 2006, Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, an A- and the state a B+, said Jack Kyser, the nonprofit group's chief economist The Chief Economist is a single position job class having primary responsibility for the development, coordination, and production of economic and financial analysis. It is distinguished from the other economist positions by the broader scope of responsibility encompassing the . A year ago the grades were B-, B+ and a B- for the county, region and state. ``The bottom line is the U.S. economy is doing quite well and in Southern California we're doing pretty good,'' Kyser said. ``We could be doing better if we had a more favorable business climate in this state.'' Despite the optimistic outlook, three powerful sectors - entertainment, housing and retail trade - will face stout challenges. Because of that, the report said the Los Angeles area job base is expected to be the weakest of the five Southern California regional areas, which is typical. Employment in the county is expected to grow 0.94 percent this year (37,900 jobs), up from 0.7 percent in 2005, continuing a trend that has developed since the 1.09 percent decline in 2003. Growth of 1.8 percent (5,100 jobs) is expected in neighboring Ventura County and 2.14 percent in the Inland Empire (25,200 jobs), the largest margin in the region. These numbers reflect steady growth this year and next in Southern California. National and local economies are at the midpoint mid·point n. 1. Mathematics The point of a line segment or curvilinear arc that divides it into two parts of the same length. 2. A position midway between two extremes. of their cycle with a lot of upward momentum, the forecast said. Retail trade and the housing sector job growth should help the Valley. ``We tend to look more like Ventura,'' said Daniel Blake, director of the San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center at California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an . ``We expect that things will continue to continue but at a slower pace.'' Kyser, echoing prior residential real estate forecasts for this year, says sales will fall under their 2005 levels with the median price moving sideways. Prices are still expected to increase, which will make it tougher for first-time buyers to get into the market. Sales began lagging year-ago levels in last year's fourth quarter and price appreciation was half what it was for the prior year in some markets. Overall the residential housing market is expected to be strong, though. Retail trade is also in for a hit, especially as Federated Connected and treated as one. See federated database and federated directories. Department Stores This is a list of department stores. In the case of department store groups the location of the flagship store is given. This list does not include large specialist stores, which sometimes resemble department stores. Inc. digests May Department Stores The May Department Stores Company was a department store chain founded in 1877 by David May in Leadville, Colorado. Its headquarters moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1905, and the company went public in 1911. . That $11 billion deal will result in about 20 Robinsons-May stores closing across Southern California. This could prompt some pruning of stores by other chains. ``The owners of some malls may find holes in their malls,'' Kyser said. The entertainment sector, a major employer in the Valley, also concerns Kyser. Some of those challenges include changing business models, fractious frac·tious adj. 1. Inclined to make trouble; unruly. 2. Having a peevish nature; cranky. [From fraction, discord (obsolete). unions and runaway production costs. ``It seems that every week in the trade papers there is another state that is ramping up the incentives they are giving or building another soundstage complex,'' he said. Bruce Ackerman, president and chief executive officer of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, said the entertainment sector picture might not be as stark as Kyser believes. He said the alliance has received inquiry from a business interested in finding enough land to build 36 production studios of various sizes. However, those sectors with positive outlooks - aerospace, international trade, tourism and aerospace/technology - will have a local impact. ``The nice thing about those four groups is that's the San Fernando Valley. We are going to continue ... to see that growth,'' Ackerman said. Gregory J. Wilcox, (818) 713-3743 greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): chart Chart: Economy on steady course SOURCE: Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. Gregg Miller/Staff Artist |
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