The City of Long Beach saw another decline in its unemployment rate in March 2017 to a low of 4.7 percent, compared to 5.5 percent around the same time in 2016, according to city officials.
The unemployment rate in Long Beach reached a peak of 14.6 percent in July 2010 and has dropped nearly 10 percent since before the recession. The state of California rate for the same period was 4.9 percent.
“Our local economy and job growth is booming,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. “In just a few short years, Long Beach has cut our unemployment rate in half, and we have added thousands of jobs. It’s one of the most impressive turnarounds of any big city in the country.”
City leaders have been working on plans to build on recent economic successes. In response to a request by Garcia and the city council, the Economic Development Commission, an advisory group to the council, in collaboration with the Economic and Property Development Department, prepared a draft blueprint for Economic Development that provides a snapshot of economic trends in the city and makes recommendations to the mayor and city council about opportunities for growth in key industries, business assistance and economic inclusion among other focus areas.
The preparation process of the blueprint consisted of detailed economic analysis by Beacon Economics, stakeholder interviews, focus groups and public study sessions with industry experts. In April, the city council adopted the blueprint to catalyze more economic opportunities for workers, investors and entrepreneurs.
For more information about workforce training programs and incentives for businesses to hire new workers, the City offers a number of innovative programs at the Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network. More information is available at pacific-gateway.org.
Source: City of LB
