September job numbers rise some but still remain down from 1991.

TABULAR DATA OMITTED

The total number of people employed in L.A. County rose in September to 3.9 million from 3.8 million in August, but is down from the 4 million posted the same month a year earlier, according to preliminary data gathered by the state Employment Development Department.

Although September marked the closing of the General Motors Corp. plant in Van Nuys, the EDD data shows that employment in the motor vehicle industry only declined by about 200 in September.

It went down to 15,000 workers from 15,200 in August.

"The Van Nuys plant employment has changed only slightly," confirmed Patrick Morrissey, spokesman for General Motors in Detroit.

"The plant is not building cars but they (the employees) are receiving full pay," he explained.

The plant closing, he said, "was not a technical layoff" since about 200 employees still arrive there each day, 1,200 are off-site receiving training at 100 percent of their wages, and another 1,200 elected not to receive training but are still getting 85 percent of their wages.

According to David Woolcott, EDD labor market analyst, the agency samples about 5,300 firms for preliminary information, though the number may rise to 6,000.

He explained that when major layoffs are pending, the EDD usually finds out about it through the press and not their samples.

But, while the mild decline in the motor vehicle area posed questions about the validity of the EDD data, questions about the accuracy of the data as a reflection of the true market have been asked for years.

In March, for instance, the EDD rebenched its survey data, effectively reporting 200,000 less jobs in L.A. County than had been reported each month during 1991.

Even the state itself does not rely entirely on its own EDD data. In 1970, California began to produce additional employment statistics through the state Department of Finance "for this very reason," said Ted Gibson, principal economist in that department.

In the Finance Department's Interim Benchmark Series, the state has consistently found discrepancies between Finance data and the employment figures of the Employment Development Department.

While the Department of Finance does not break down data by county, employment figures for the entire state during September shows 12,090,600 people employed in non-agricultural jobs in California. The EDD on the other hand, puts the number at 12,278,500.

"We have run consistently around 180,000 below the EDD," said Gibson.

As the Finance Department's Interim Benchmark Series is based on payroll tax information, Gibson pointed out, "in bad economic times we tend to run below the EDD and in good economic times we run a little above."

The discrepancy, he noted, comes from the fluctuation of small businesses.

The annual average for employment in the state for 1991 as reported by both institutions reflects 12,430,400 people at work in non-farm jobs in the state, according to the Department of Finance.

The EDD calculated an average of 12,497,100. The gap closed a bit, but was still off by 66,700 people.

Gibson asserted also that budget cuts have crippled the EDD, making it more difficult to accurately complete the survey.

In fact, he said, the EDD, which receives some federal funding to operate, has had its budget cut to the point where it is only sampling 30,000 firms statewide whereas the norm is supposed to be 60,000.

He noted that in budget cutbacks, the federal government hits the biggest states the most.

Still, Gibson stressed, the Department of Finance is not at odds with the EDD, which may soon take over the Interim Benchmark Series.

"We're working towards a situation where the EDD would publish this data," in addition to its own statistics, he said.

Meanwhile, the most notable changes in the September EDD figures occurred in the services and government areas, which experienced a slight boost.

But, increases in the number of jobs in the services industry are anticipated as jobs are lost in goods-producing manufacturing sectors and the government numbers vary by season.

Construction jobs, which have declined since June 1991, dwindled again, down to 118,100 in September.

And the number of manufacturing jobs, down again in September to 740,600, has been slipping monthly since August 1990.

California's unemployment rate for September was 10.4 percent, down from the previous month's 10.7 percent as well as July's 11.2 percent.

However, the figure was lower in September 1991 at 9.3 percent.