Los Angeles, Dec. 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Forty percent of the Los Angeles region’s workforce are in essential frontline infrastructure industries, and over five years there will be 93,000 job openings in just ten of the essential occupations, providing career pathways for jobseekers with less potential to be impacted by economic shocks. The report, Essential Workers in Critical Infrastructure Industries at the time of COVID-19, examines the workforce trends related to the pandemic and the skills, demographics, wages and opportunity of related occupations, providing analysis that can be used to better understand educational alignment with job opportunities in these industries.
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on workers has caused disruption to jobs, including layoffs affecting over 400,000 people in the Los Angeles region, but the report finds the essential industries workforce has faced much more stable employment during this global shock, with only a 6.3% decline in employment, compared to a 23.6% decline in employment in the non-essential industries of the LA Basin. Essential Workers are critical to keeping our economy going and include a wide range of occupations, many with higher wages and lower exposure to health risks during COVID, while many positions earn below the living wage and require more public exposure.
The report was authored by Center for a Competitive Workforce, a partnership between Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) and the LA/OC Center of Excellence (COE) for Labor Market Research at Mount SAC. This is the 15th report in the series, designed to align our talent development systems like the 19 community colleges in the LA Basin with projected job openings that pay above a living wage in LA’s economy.
“With COVID impacting the economy and its people on an unprecedented scale, we think this data-based look at LA’s essential workforce is needed, to inform workforce development, public policy and conversations about recovery,” said Shannon Sedgwick, Director of LAEDC’s Institute for Applied Economics.
“Santa Monica College is proud to lead the regional efforts of CCW and this report could not be more timely or important to all of the 19 community colleges and the many workforce and education partners in L.A. County to understand the impact of this pandemic across diverse industries, and to ensure our students are prepared with the skills and experience for quality employment and careers in our dynamic and fast changing economy,” said Dr. Patricia Ramos, Dean, Workforce and Economic Development, Santa Monica College.
The report’s focus on Healthcare, Construction, Professional Services and Social Assistance sectors reveals upward mobility career pathways, paired with data about local college programs to give college faculty and job-seekers actionable information.
Occupations profiled in the Los Angeles Basin which pay above a living wage include:
- Bookkeeping, Accounting & Auditing Clerks (23,100 job openings over five years)
- Computer User Support Specialists (5,600 job openings over five years)
- Licensed Vocational and Licensed Practical Nurses (7,400 job openings over five years)
- Paralegals & Legal Assistants (4,400 job openings over five years)
- Social & Human Service Assistants (6,300 job openings over five years)
- Accountants & Auditors (17,800 job openings over five years)
- Child, Family & School Social Workers (4,800 job openings over five years)
- Financial Managers (7,200 job openings over five years)
- Mkt Research Analysts & Marketing Specialists (12,700 job openings over five years)
- Software Developers/ QA Analysts & Testers (12,200 job openings over five years)
“We’re going to use this report to bring industry and faculty to the same table, to make sure these upward mobility pathways are fine-tuned and bring more people a living wage,” said Jessica Ku Kim, Senior Director of Workforce Development at LAEDC.
Prior reports by CCW compared the Los Angeles Basin supply and demand for talent in local industries such as Healthcare, Entertainment and Digital Media, Manufacturing, Information and Communication Technology, Construction, Protective Services, and Professional Services, and highlight well-paying career paths in occupations that will be hiring. These reports fuel faculty conversations with industry to create systems change in how we prepare our workforce for mid-skill careers.
Engage with CCW via Jessica Ku Kim at LAEDC or Richard Verches, Executive Director of CCW.
Read the full report at https://CompetitiveWorkforce.LA/essential
Center for a Competitive Workforce, housed at nonprofit Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), is a Strong Workforce Program regional project of the 19 L.A. region community colleges in the LA/OC Regional Consortium, the Center of Excellence for Labor Market Research at Mt. San Antonio College, and the LAEDC. The Center for a Competitive Workforce (CCW) mission is to better align supply and demand data with labor market intelligence, support industry-driven career education and workforce development programs. This serves to strengthen curricula and industry engagement across our region’s talent development systems with the goal to train, educate and upskill a more competitive workforce in LA County for the knowledge-intensive occupations that will come to dominate our economic future. This partnership improves the readiness and opportunity for students and jobseekers, addresses the talent gaps employers face, and better aligns colleges and workforce development systems with the projected demand of local employers. www.CompetitiveWorkforce.LA
About Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC)
LAEDC drives action in support of a reimagined Los Angeles regional economy that is growing, equitable, sustainable and resilient, and provides a healthy and high standard of living for all. A public-benefit nonprofit celebrating its 40th year of working collaboratively to improve the lives of people through economic inclusivity, LAEDC is a trusted leader working on behalf of the Los Angeles County region. www.laedc.org
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