A look behind June's employment report

Pasadena Star News

By: Cynthia Kurtz

Posted: 7/30/2014 

It was good to read the headlines announcing that California has created more new jobs than it lost in the recession. But the California Center for Jobs and the Economy - a non-profit public benefit corporation dedicated to providing objective information on California's economy - was quick to add a few caveats in its California Employment Report. There are hidden numbers and some pain lurking behind that announcement.

In June 2014 the California unemployment rate dropped by 0.2 percent to 7.4 percent. Some 15,472,000 people are now employed (seasonally adjusted) compared to 15,449,000 who were employed in July 2007. Before we declare victory, however, let's look at some other numbers.

First, those new jobs aren't distributed equally across the state. Los Angeles County and the San Gabriel Valley have not added back "all" the jobs lost in the recession. In 2003 the SGV had approximately 644,000 jobs. Over the next five years that number steadily grew to reach 674,000 jobs in 2008.

Then the SGV lost 55,000 jobs in less than two years bottoming out at 619,000 jobs in 2010. Jobs are coming back - over 3,000 new ones in 2011, 11,000 more in 2012 and an additional 12,000 in 2013. But we still need to add an 29,000 more jobs before we are back to 2007 levels and that will take at least two years.

The SGV isn't alone. What California is seeing is a two-tiered recovery. Unemployment numbers vary widely across the state. Imperial County has the highest unemployment rate at 22 percent followed by Colusa County at 14.9 percent and Sutter County at 13.3 percent. Los Angeles County has an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent - 0.5 percent higher than the state average.

Compare those figures with Marin County's unemployment rate of 4 percent, San Mateo County at 4.2 percent, and San Francisco County at 4.5 percent.

Second, while the state unemployment rate dropped by -1.9 percent, the participation rate also dropped by -1.0 percent. The participation rate is the number of people who are employed or actively looking for work. In June 2014 the California rate was 62.1 percent compared to 62.8 percent for the country.

When more jobs are created the participation rate should stay the same or increase to reflect that more people are entering the work force with population growth. When it drops, it is an indication the workers are discouraged and have stopped looking for jobs.

Between June 2013 and June 2014, California added 137,200 jobs but the population increased by 1.73 million people. The California Center for Jobs and the Economy estimates that there were 73,500 fewer people looking for work in June 2014 than in June 2013.

Finally, the Center for Jobs found that middle class job creation is lagging and remains 222,700 jobs behind the 2007 number.

What does this mean? It means we are not done. Both the public and private sectors are creating jobs. Things appear headed in the right direction. But public policy makers, regulators, and employers must stay focused on the issues that impact the economy and California's ability to create jobs.

Special Olympics: a win-win event

Pasadena Star News

By: Cynthia Kurtz

Posted: 7/23/2014

On July 25, 2015, just one year from now, there will be a big kick-off in Southern California for the largest event hosted in Los Angeles since the 1984 Olympic Games - the 2015 Special Olympics World Games.

Over nine days 7,000 athletes from 177 counties will compete in 25 events at 27 venues throughout Southern California. 

Don't for a minute think that this won't be real competition. Over 4.2 million athletes are training and competing in 70,000 events this year with their eyes on landing one of those 7,000 spots in the World Games.

The World Games are held every two years alternating between Summer and Winter Games. The 2013 Games were in Pyeongchang, South Korea and 2011 in Athens, Greece.

Just like the Olympic Games, countries compete for the privilege of hosting. And just like the Olympics, there is a big economic impact not just from the visiting athletes but also from 3,000 coaches, 30,000 volunteers, 5,000 VIP guests, 500,000 spectators and 2,000 media representatives who will come to cheer, coach, report, and enjoy the fun. The LA Tourism and Convention Board commissioned a study that estimated a fiscal impact to the Los Angeles region of $415 million.

Patrick McClenahan is President and Chief Executive Officer for the 2015 Special Olympics World Games. He also served as the Chair of the LA Bid Committee that successfully brought the Games to Los Angeles. 

Mr. McClenahan knows how to put on sporting events. As President and General Manager of CBS2 and KCAL9, he oversaw coverage of over 100 live sporting events per year and has been honored with six Emmy's for his work in sports television.

He also understands how important the World Games are for special athletes having served as Chair of the Board of Directors for Special Olympics of Southern California for the past 11 years.

Mr. McClenahan and his team were recently the guests of the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership. They visited the SGV to encourage San Gabriel Valley cities and civic groups to be part of the Host Town Program. They are looking for 100 towns across Southern California to host the athletics for three days before the Games begin.

For many of the athletes this will be their first trip to the U.S.A. The Host Town Program will make sure they get a special welcome and a taste of our California lifestyle. A schedule of cultural and sports activities are being planned by the World Games and Host Towns will also have the opportunity to plan some events for their guests.

The Arcadia Chamber of Commerce and a consortium made-up of the Fairplex, La Verne, Pomona and Claremont have already signed up. Pasadena and Duarte are planning to do the same. I know there will be others.

There are 200 million people worldwide with intellectual disabilities. Too often they are marginalized, misunderstood and even mistreated. During the World Games they will be the stars.

We need more cities, more businesses and more individuals to get involved. If you would like information on the Host Town Program, becoming a sponsor, making a donation, supporting an athlete, or becoming a volunteer, go to www.LA2015.org  or contact me at the Partnership ckurtz@valleyconnect.com. 

A regional take on transportation planning

Pasadena Star News

By: Cynthia Kurtz

Posted: 7/16/2014

The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is updating its Short Range Transportation Plan. The draft released a few months ago didn’t include the “Gold Line Light Rail Project to Claremont” - which is how voter approved Measure R described the project. Instead it terminated the project at Azusa. Everyone got ready for a fight.

Sometimes you are so sure you know what someone is going to say, you don’t bother to even ask. That is often the way SGV folks - yours truly included - think about the City of Los Angeles. We assume that it wants every transportation dollar for its own projects without regard for the rest of the County.

Wisely, Assembly Member Chris Holden didn’t assume he knew what the new Mayor of Los Angeles would say about the Short Range Plan. Instead he invited Mayor Eric Garcetti, also the newly elected Chair of Metro, to a forum about San Gabriel Valley transportation priorities. Mayor Garcetti accepted the invitation. What he said surprised many of us.

Mayor Garcetti called for a new page in regionalism. “I can’t explain history, he said, but it is time to start from a new place. Leadership is to widen the conversation so it isn’t about one project against another or one region against another.” His message throughout the forum was that Los Angeles is the biggest city in the County but not the only city and we are all better off if we work together.

As the Chair of Metro he has a very straight forward agenda and one that immediately makes sense to a business person. First, he wants better oversight of Metro’s construction program. Metro spends hundreds of millions of dollars on construction every year and the Mayor wants to be sure those dollars are being carefully managed.

He wants the Metro Board and the public to have a better understanding about the agency’s finances and he wants to make better use of Public-Private Partnerships. Canada and Europe have been using P-3s successfully for years but California has been reluctant to move forward with these partnerships.

Three SGV transportation priorities were discussed: the Gold Line Light Rail to Claremont, Ontario Airport, and the Gold Line Eastside Extension along Rte-60.

Mayor Garcetti said that building the Gold Line Light Rail to Claremont was as high a priority for him as building light rail to LAX. He pledged to work with the SGV’s representative on the Metro Board, Duarte Council Member John Fasana to make sure the Short Range Plan reflects that priority.

While he doesn’t believe that L.A. has mismanaged Ontario Airport, he said he will support transitioning the airport to some form of local control.

Unfortunately, as Steve Scauzillo’s July 10 article in this paper noted, Mayor Garcetti seemed to lean towards the Eastside Gold Line Extension along Washington Blvd. over the Rte-60 Route that would serve the SGV. But he also called for government to “be braver” and not limit its thinking to just one alignment. “Why can’t we have both?” he asked.

It was a refreshing meeting. No one went home thinking that we don’t have to continue to be engaged in support of what is best for our region. But everyone went home thinking there is definitely a new sheriff in town!