Explaining Southern California's economy
Flying out of Los Angeles is cheaper from Long Beach
Ed Joyce/KPCC
A Department of Transportation report shows the Long Beach Airport has the second lowest average domestic airfares in the U.S. at $234. The lowest average fare is $157 at Atlantic City's airport.
Thinking of flying away this Memorial Day holiday weekend? It could be cheaper out of Long Beach. Recent rankings from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) show the Long Beach Airport has the second lowest average domestic airfares in the country.
The USDOT ranked 100 airports by average round-trip fares in the 4th quarter of 2012. But one-way fares were included in some instances.
The average domestic airfare at Long Beach was $234, far below the national average at $374. Only Atlantic City’s airport offered a lower average fare of $157.
“This is a very important number for us, because it actually translates into customer service,” said Long Beach Airport Director Mario Rodriguez.
Rodriguez said the customers breakdown into two groups: air travelers and the airlines that operate at the Long Beach Airport.
Unemployment rate declines in Southern California
KPCC
A line of job seekers wait to get into a Walmart hiring event at the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Altadena on Dec. 8, 2012.
California’s unemployment rate dropped to 9 percent last month, which analysts say is a sign that the economy is steadily improving. It's the state's lowest unemployment since November 2008.
Just a year ago, the unemployment rate was 10.7 percent.
“It’s great to be able to report that we are able to make such progress in the unemployment rate,” said Robert Kleinhenz, chief economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.
Why is the state’s unemployment rate declining?
Last month, California employers added 293,100 jobs, an increase of 1.9 percent, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. The industries with the highest gains by number of jobs were in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality and education and health services.
There are also fewer people looking for jobs. The civilian labor force in California has dropped by 139,000 people compared to a year ago, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Southern California homes sold at a fast-pace in April
Christopher Okula/KPCC
San Diego-based DataQuick said Wednesday that California's median home prices surged to the highest level in nearly five years. The research firm said the median price paid for a home in California was $324,000 - the highest since June 2008. (Photo: A home for sale in Central Los Angeles.)
Southern California homes sold at a robust pace for the month of April, at the highest level in seven years, according to San Diego-based research firm DataQuick. The increase was due to fewer homes for sale.
There were 21,415 homes and condos sold in Southern California last month, up 9.5 percent from a year ago, DataQuick said. The pace was the highest for the month of April in seven years. The median price was $357,000 in April, up 23 percent from a year ago, the research firm said.
“There’s a lot of pent-up demand out there,” said Kimberly Ritter-Martinez, an economist with Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.
Why are home prices rising?
Ritter-Martinez said there are fewer foreclosures and distressed properties, which means less rock-bottom prices for homes. Demand for homes is outpacing the supply. Many buyers were reluctant to buy a home during the recession. As unemployment decreases, people are now feeling more ready to purchase a home, but there are fewer homes for sale.
Disney CEO Robert Iger says revamped California Adventure drawing more visitors (infographic)
Susan Valot/KPCC
"World of Color" has helped draw more people to Disney California Adventure.
Disney’s $1.1 billion renovation of its California Adventure theme park in Anaheim is showing results, the company’s CEO said on Tuesday. (Check out a nifty infographic of all the companies Disney owns, courtesy of CableTV.com.)
In the past, 75 percent of guests at the Disneyland Resort would go to Disneyland in Anaheim, with only a quarter going to California Adventure. Now on most days, it’s 45 percent of the resort’s guests that go to California Adventure, said CEO Robert Iger.
“That’s an incredible change and it enables us to drive real bottom-line growth,” Iger said. “… We’re getting pricing out of California Adventure that’s substantially above what we were able to drive before.”
California Adventure had a rough start when it launched more than 10 years ago. Visitors didn’t latch onto the concept.
Employers add jobs in April, but competition among job seekers is stiff
Susan Valot/KPCC
An employee from The Habit grabs a cheeseburger order from the burger chain's food truck.
U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs last month, reducing the nation's unemployment rate to the lowest level in four years.
"The economy is doing what it's supposed to be doing," said Kimberly Ritter-Martinez, an economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.
Interactive: Explaining the monthly jobs report
Ritter-Martinez said the report was good news. The nation's unemployment rate dropped to 7.5 percent and the leisure and hospitality, retail, as well as professional and business services sectors were hiring.
Hiring sizzles at Irvine-based burger chain
Irvine-based The Habit Burger Grill said it plans to open 20 new restaurants this year, which means there will be more than 600 new jobs. In April, the chain opened a new location in Utah.
"We've been on a real big growth swing recently," said Mike Mirkil, the company's vice president of marketing.
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