was the 1980s the last time LA had a universally strong economy? (Orange: 2013, mortgage)

[Freshflakes757]

I recall a post on flyertalk which mentioned that a user moved from the midwest to LA in the 1980s because there was an abundance of jobs in the metro area for a tech boom -- extending all the way out to Inland Empire. He claimed LA was where the "jobs" were in the 1980s...?

I'd imagine the 1980s economy was pretty great in LA despite the lack of gentrification in current areas. You had a booming film, aerospace, software, and tech industry.

I guess my question was when did the good times begin and end? Obviously unemployment is sky high so it must have ended pre 2008.

[ccm123]

I lived in Southern Cal in the 80's, 90's and early 2000's. The economy was strong in 1998-2002 and 2004-2007, when the unemployment rates were hovering around 5-6%. I recall getting a job there was much, much easier than it is today. I hope things recover there to what things were like before.

[genjy]

I think LA and SoCal in general had a pretty good economy around the mid to late '90s. The economy started to go downhill around the mid-'00s during the war.

[Ingenere]

The whole state seems to be losing businesses due to high expenses.

[disgruntled la native]

90s were great. Even the early 2000s were okay. For example, a college grad from a good university had no issues getting a decent job as recently as 2006. Since 2008, it's all gone to hell. Suddenly there's 300 applicants for every job. Not sure why it fell apart so quickly.

[jm1982]

Yeah well CA is ranked near the bottom as a place to do business or as being business friendly.

It's interesting though because it seems the average person still thinks that this is "Where the jobs are"

I guess they don't really do much research and check out unemployment rates and "boring" stuff like that.

Employment wise L.A doesn't seem to be a great place if you are looking for work especially when combined with the high cost and low quality of life for what you pay (high traffic, big homeless population, relatively old/rundown housing stock, apathetic city government,etc)

If you are looking to get into the film industry it might be a good choice...but otherwise there are better places and states and cities (some in L.A) that know how to foster business and run a city. Orange Counties unemployment rate is around 6.5%. , L.A is 9.4%

[ccm123]

Yes, I agree. I applied for a position in 2000 and got it after one interview. I applied for another position in 2007, and the interviewing process took 9 weeks (4 different interviews) before I received the offer.

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

90s were great. Even the early 2000s were okay. For example, a college grad from a good university had no issues getting a decent job as recently as 2006. Since 2008, it's all gone to hell. Suddenly there's 300 applicants for every job. Not sure why it fell apart so quickly.

[disgruntled la native]

Originally Posted by ccm123

Yes, I agree. I applied for a position in 2000 and got it after one interview. I applied for another position in 2007, and the interviewing process took 9 weeks (4 different interviews) before I received the offer.

Anecdotally, I think it's better now in 2013 than it was in 2009-2011, but it's still nothing like the early 2000s. A lot of people have "given up" and gone on government assistance to live a bare bones lifestyle anyway.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by Freshflakes757

I'd imagine the 1980s economy was pretty great in LA...

Depends on which part of the decade you're referring to. In the early 1980s, there was a recession (although it was nothing like the one that hit in around 2008). There was also the Savings and Loan crisis. One thing I recall from that time is that mortgage interest rates were in the double digits...I believe our loan was around 16%. The economy picked up in the mid to late 1980s.

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

Depends on which part of the decade you're referring to. In the early 1980s, there was a recession (although it was nothing like the one that hit in around 2008). There was also the Savings and Loan crisis. One thing I recall from that time is that mortgage interest rates were in the double digits...I believe our loan was around 16%. The economy picked up in the mid to late 1980s.

Mortgage interest rates were very high , but wasnt the interest paid on savings accounts also similar?

Now rates on savings accounts are like .75% percent.