L.A. County Leads U.S. in Factory Jobs

Local manufacturers haven’t had much to smile about amid tough times rattling their industries. But at least they can take pride in knowing that Los Angeles County remains the nation’s biggest factory center.

The county in 2003 averaged around 511,000 manufacturing jobs, outpacing runner-up metropolitan Chicago, which had about 479,000, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. What’s more, revised government figures show that the City of Angels never relinquished its lead to the City of the Big Shoulders, as had been previously thought.

To be sure, L.A.’s manufacturing sector has been whipsawed by the same global forces that have pounded the factory sector nationwide. Since 2000, Los Angeles County has shed more than 16% of its factory jobs.

But the county maintained its lead, thanks in part to a rich mix of industries from apparel and aerospace to food processing and furniture manufacturing. California also stayed out in front among states, averaging about 1.6 million factory jobs, compared with an average of about 917,000 for No. 2 Texas, according to the development agency.

As recently as 2001, Chicago was believed to have edged out L.A. County as the nation’s top manufacturing center by a few thousand jobs. But last year’s switch by government analysts in how they define industries and divvy up payroll jobs within them appears to have given Los Angeles County a sizable lead dating to 1990. That was the first year for which revised employment figures were available under the new North American Industry Classification System.

The system redefined how the government counts factory jobs. Publishing was taken out of the mix and put into a new category known as “information.” Meanwhile, employees at headquarters operations of large manufacturing concerns were reclassified as service workers rather than factory hands.

The result was that L.A. County managed to retain its No. 1 ranking and even extend its lead over perennial rival Chicago, whose large base of publishing and manufacturing headquarters jobs were transferred into other industry categories.

That leadership is a legacy worth protecting, said Jack Kyser, the development agency’s chief economist. He added that the state’s high costs, along with policymakers’ ignorance of manufacturing’s importance to California’s economy, were serious threats to the industrial base.

“We’re still No. 1, but for how long?,” Kyser said. “The message is that we’re still an important manufacturing center, but we need to pay attention to it if we want to remain viable.”

* (BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX) Manufacturing leaders The nation’s largest manufacturing centers*, as measured by estimated annual average manufacturing employment in 2003 (In thousands)

Los Angeles County 511.0 Chicago 479.3 Detroit 328.6 Philadelphia 230.6 Dallas 205.5 Minneapolis-St. Paul 203.4 Houston 192.8 San Jose 185.5 Orange County 182.5 Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria 167.3

*Metropolitian statistical areas Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics