9:50am | Long Beach unemployment picture continues to improve. Unemployment in Long Beach was 13.7%, marking another month of improvements for the city. The city’s unemployment rate fell in August to 14.2% from 14.6% in July.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Los Angeles County remained unchanged over the month at 12.6% in September from last month, but more importantly the rate was above the rate of 12.2% rate year ago, according to data from the Employment Development Department.
Civilian employment in L.A. County increased by 14,000 jobs to 4.27 million in September 2010, while unemployment also increased by 1,000 to 615,000 over the month, the EDD said. California’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 12.4% in September 2010, slightly above last year’s 12.1% figure, and estimates for the nation were 9.6% in September, on par with August’s 9.6% rate, and a slight improvement form 9.8% a year ago.
Educational and health services (up 10,600) posted the largest month-over employment increase in the county. Professional and business services (up 4,400) also reported job gains over the month. Industries that posted month-over job declines were construction (down 3,100), leisure and hospitality (down 2,800), manufacturing (down 2,100), other services (down 1,300), and trade, transportation and utilities (down 200), the EDD said.
Unemployment continues to be a top issue for Americans, as well as Long Beach citizens. A recent poll by lbpost.com shows it ranks among the highest concerns, with 41.5% of those polled saying that bringing jobs to the city is a critical issue. The issue ranked ahead of concerns over the city budget.