The UT reports on the the April numbers from the CA Labor Department. An excerpt is below. I’m looking for a story about a burgeoning new industry. High tech, biotech? Nothing here. The good side: commercial construction and manufacturing are growing, as is work in accounting/legal services/office support.
I spoke with Cheryl Mason, the labor market analyst who released yesterday’s reports. (She was at the UCLA Anderson Forecast meeting.) The economists get their data from her office, and there is nothing in the data to show a growing sector. They have heard that there’ll be hiring in ports, homeland security, and construction of drones. Pharmaceutical jobs remain a hope, and my friend who is a biotech head hunter is placing 10x the people he was last year.
Excerpt from the UT below:
Tourism and construction led the job gains in San Diego County, continuing a pattern for several quarters. Hotels, restaurants and other tourism-related businesses boosted employment by 1,900 jobs, while construction added 600 jobs from March to April.
“Construction was the leader for two or three years,” said Cox. “Now the visitor industry has taken over the baton. Those are relatively low-paying jobs. The quality of the job growth is a little bit of a concern.”
Retailers shed jobs during the month, which offset hiring from wholesalers – mainly in medical and communications equipment. The overall job loss in retail and wholesale trade was 300 jobs, as higher gasoline prices and higher interest rates helped curb consumer spending, economists said.
Builders continued to hire despite a significant slowdown in the housing market and a sharp decline in residential building permits.
The region’s construction industry appears to be benefiting from a recent ramp up in commercial building, which has helped buoy the sector despite the slowdown in housing.
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