SYNOPSIS
This is the first year report of the Los Angeles state/local cooperative labor market information project, an annual employer survey of selected occupations in the Los Angeles Area. Staff of the Los Angeles County Private Industry Council prepared the material, with the assistance of the California State Employment Development Department, Labor Market Information Division. Survey data were collected between August 1989 and January 1990 Information presented here refer solely to employment within the Los Angeles/ Long Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area. The following occupations were selected for survey by local users of occupational information. Questions regarding this report should be directed to Christopher Payne, state/local project coordinator, Los Angeles County Private Industry Council.
The report is divided into five chapters with three appendices:
- Introductory points
- Occupational definitions
- Summary tables by occupation
- Results of limited surveys
- Results of local questions
- Appendices
To begin, we provide background on the state/local cooperative labor market information project, suggest uses for the report findings, and discuss the process of selecting occupations. The structure of occupational tables and descriptive conventions are also outlined.
Definitions of the surveyed occupations are found in chapter two. The definitions follow those used in the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistic Dictionary (BLS, OES, 1986) with additional descriptions gathered from Employment Development Department Occupational Guides (EDD, 1984-88).
Summaries of the occupational survey, the central element of the report, are then presented in twenty-four outlook tables. The main survey concerns include job market outlook, current wages, and employer hiring preferences. Data on recent employment levels, projected job openings, and industrial concentration for each occupation are also compiled. We hope the reader finds the design of these tables convenient and concise.
In the fourth chapter, summary data for two occupations, computer programmer aides and home health aides, are presented in the form of limited surveys. Full surveys for these two occupations were not possible, but due to local interest, available data from employers and other sources are discussed.
Chapter five outlines local questions added to the employer survey and details employer response to those questions. Some of the responses are incorporated into the summary tables of chapter three by occupation. Discussion in this chapter looks at response to local questions on a sample-wide basis. Questions covered here include employer views on local job preparation and training programs, and on employer-sponsored child care.
Finally, three appendices are included. Appendix A discusses sampling and survey methodology. Appendix B contains a graphic array of the occupations by hourly wages. Three charts are provided examining wages offered entry-level workers with no experience, entry-level workers with previous experience, and workers who have held the occupation for 3 years. Appendix C provides forecast data for HX) non-managerial occupations which offer growth opportunities. Forecast figures, generated by the Labor Market Information Division (LMID), are estimates of specific occupational growth from 19871992 in Los Angeles County. A base employment growth of 13.9 percent over the five-year period is estimated (LMID, 1987). The table displays three main figures; size in 1987, net job growth by 1992 and percent growth over the forecast period.