Southern California’s job market is a very mixed picture: Unemployment in June was the highest since 2022’s start, though the last time hiring was faster was in early 2023.

My trusty spreadsheet reviewed non-seasonally adjusted jobs data for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties released Friday, July 19 from California’s Employment Development Department.

Let’s start with the region’s unemployment rate, which ran at 5.4% in June – up from 4.6% the previous month and 4.7% a year earlier. Unemployment in June was 5.9% in LA County, 5.3% in the IE and 4% in Orange County.

The last time the region’s joblessness rate was higher was January 2022 when it ran 5.6%. But unemployment typically rises in June as many government educators start their summer breaks.

Yet, this year’s 0.8 percentage-point jobless increase from May is larger than the average 0.5-point increase in the same period in pre-pandemic 2015-19. It’s one hint of a seemingly cooled regional job market in recent months.

Unemployment trends are compiled from a survey of households. When government researchers asked employers about staffing, however, a more optimistic picture appears.

Bosses in Southern California had 8.02 million workers in June – an increase of 22,800 in a month and up 115,100 over 12 months. This hiring equals 1.5% job growth in a year – the swiftest pace since January 2023. The Inland Empire had a 1.9% increase, Orange County was up 1.4% and Los Angeles County rose 1.3%.

Remember, the Federal Reserve is using higher interest rates to slow an overheated economy. In addition, various uncertainties – including national politics – can be unnerving. So, numerous employers and shoppers are trimming expenses.

But stubborn inflation continues to wallop household budgets. That may be pushing some folks back to the job market. Southern California’s workforce – a metric combining the employed and the unemployed – is growing at its fastest pace in eight months.

The four-county region’s job market, by key industry niches …

Private Education/Health: 1.53 million, off 9,400 in a month and up 80,100 in a year.

Business Services: 1.12 million jobs, up 400 in a month and off 11,100 in a year.

Hospitality: 975,700 jobs, up 3,600 in a month and up 13,700 in a year.

Government: 1.05 million jobs, up 6,600 in a month and up 26,400 in a year.

Retail: 730,100 jobs, up 2,600 in a month and off 400 in a year.

Manufacturing: 566,300 jobs, up 2,500 in a month and off 9,300 in a year.

Transportation/Warehousing/Utilities: 457,200 jobs, up 3,000 in a month and up 8,700 in a year.

Construction: 376,400 jobs, up 3,600 in a month and up 1,800 in a year.

Financial Activities: 359,400 jobs, up 1,500 in a month and off 700 in a year.

Wholesale Trade: 352,000 jobs, up 5,300 in a month and up 1,400 in a year.

Information: 222,100 jobs, up 3,800 in a month and off 600 in a year.

And the hiring patterns, by metropolitan area …

Los Angeles County: 4.60 million jobs, up 11,700 in a month and up 60,200 in a year.

Orange County: 1.71 million jobs, up 5,400 in a month and up 23,800 in a year.

Inland Empire: 1.71 million jobs, up 5,700 in a month and up 31,100 in a year.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

Originally Published: July 19, 2024 at 2:48 p.m.

In the past, good neighbors would keep an eye out for a suspicious car rounding the block or an unfamiliar face checking out homes. Nowadays, burglars are banking on people being too distracted to notice hidden cameras tracking their schedules.

L.A. Times metro reporter Nathan Solis wrote about the growing trend and some tips for protecting yourself.

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY – Nutria, a giant rodent also called the swamp rat, is continuing to invade California’s Central Valley, according to the US Department of Fish and Wildlife.

This invasive species can destroy not only habitats but also critical levees agricultural lands need.

Officials are trapping them and getting rid of them. They say it is the best thing they can do right now, but these Nutria keep coming back and in high numbers.

For officials at the local and national level, this is a big priority.

“I had to bring a taxidermic rodent into the halls of Congress,” said Congressman Josh Harder.

Congressman Harder represents San Joaquin County, and Thursday morning came out to the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge to see the progress wildlife officials have made on eradicating Nutria.

Also called the swamp rat, it’s an invasive species in California.

“Once you get one of these rodents into a wetland, they just take over,” said Harder. “That’s the danger of one of these invasive species, we don’t have natural protections.”

Back in 2020, Harder secured $12 million of funding for five years to beef up wildlife official’s battle to get rid of Nutria.

But it’s not just bad for the habitats in the refuge.

“They cause a lot of damage to wetlands and infrastructure to water infrastructure. California has a lot of water that gets moved around,” said Chris Harper.

Farmland and levees are also under threat from the Nutria.

Harper is the project leader with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife. He says his team continues to trap and get rid of the swamp rats as much as they can.

So far this year, along the San Joaquin River 77 have been captured.

They originate from South America but were brought to California as part of the fur trade.

Thought to be extinct, they were found again in California in 2017.

Since then, more than 4,600 have been captured, and the numbers keep growing, with Stanislaus County having captured nearly 1,000 to date.

Harper says the funding is helpful.
 
“Five new techs to really help run the cameras and run the traps full time. So we were really able to staff up this season,” he said.

But it’s running out. That’s why Harder says the funding he secured four years ago needs to be reauthorized.

“If we don’t get this species eradicated,” Harder said. “It will cost hundreds of millions of dollars of infrastructure damage and agricultural damage over the next couple of years.”

Officials told CBS13 it’s hard to estimate how many Nutria are still out there in each county.

They also couldn’t give a timeframe for how much longer it will take to rid Nutria of this area, but they see it as necessary.