Industry View

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What Opportunities and Challenges Characterize Los Angeles's Labor Market Today?

This dashboard provides industry-level insight into Los Angeles's workforce – showing where people work and at what wage, how those sectors are growing, and what education needs look like – against a national benchmark. Use it to better understand the Los Angeles labor market, and how each major industry's demand and growth exceed, match, or lag national benchmarks.

Labor Force Size6,736,784
Employment Growth0.3%
National Benchmark: 1.2%
Labor Force Participation Rate65.4%
National Benchmark: 62.3%
Unemployment Rate5.9%
National Benchmark: 4.3%
College Attainment Rate38.5%
National Benchmark: 42.0%

*Sources: BGI analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Community Survey, and Lightcast data

Sort by
Share of Total Labor Force
Location Quotient
Job Postings
Employment Growth
Pay
Non-BA Share of Workforce
Health Care And Social Assistance
12.8%
-6.8%
351,980
+1.3%
$65,520
52.4%
Retail Trade
9.6%
-8.0%
187,238
-5.2%
$44,980
75.9%
Professional, Scientific, And Technical Services
9.1%
1.3%
215,614
+3.3%
$84,616
28.3%
Manufacturing
9.0%
1.5%
163,497
-3.5%
$80,000
66.0%
Educational Services
8.4%
-7.4%
130,653
+2.4%
$73,998
33.9%
Accommodation And Food Services
7.4%
12.6%
136,055
-0.3%
$44,969
84.6%
Construction
6.2%
-9.8%
46,912
-0.8%
$68,280
85.4%
Transportation And Warehousing
5.5%
4.2%
42,581
+7.6%
$61,000
81.4%
Other Services (Except Public Administration)
5.4%
13.1%
57,136
-4.7%
$52,838
75.9%
Administrative And Support And Waste Management And Remediation Services
5.0%
10.6%
386,075
+5.1%
$65,000
80.0%
Finance And Insurance
4.0%
-20.4%
86,591
-7.1%
$82,500
42.2%
Information
4.0%
96.8%
64,122
-2.0%
$87,900
33.5%
Public Administration
3.6%
-33.0%
23,542
+3.0%
$77,970
49.9%
Arts, Entertainment, And Recreation
3.3%
53.8%
28,539
-0.6%
$50,960
51.9%
Wholesale Trade
3.0%
28.5%
64,822
-9.5%
$55,000
65.4%
Real Estate And Rental And Leasing
2.4%
17.0%
44,318
-4.8%
$57,200
51.3%
Utilities
0.6%
-21.4%
8,052
+5.9%
$108,932
55.0%
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing And Hunting
0.5%
-37.9%
2,602
+17.0%
$70,000
86.3%
Significantly Below National Average
Below National Average
On par with National Average
Above National Average
Significantly Above National Average

*Sources: BGI analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Community Survey, and Lightcast data

Key Insights
Wages are a Broad Regional Strength
Pay runs hot across industries: 13 of 18 sectors are much above the national benchmark and 3 are above it. Top medians: Utilities ($112k), Information ($87k), PSTS ($84k), Finance ($81k), Manufacturing ($80k), and Public Admin ($77k).
Employer Demand is Soft Relative to Industry Size
15 of 18 sectors show below or much below benchmark on job postings; only Manufacturing, Educational Services, and Agriculture are on par.
Concentration Highlights the Creative/Digital Economy
Information and Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation are flagged much above national concentration; Wholesale also sits above. Several public-facing or capital-intensive sectors (Public Admin, Utilities, Finance, Ag) are below national concentration.

Which Industries Can Drive Greater Economic Mobility in Los Angeles?* Click on a bubble to explore roles for this industry.

Explore how industries in Los Angeles compare in terms of talent mobility and employment growth. Use this tool to identify sectors that could benefit the most from upskilling or career pathways.Bubble size reflects the number of workers in each industry.

Mobility Gaps
Opportunity Engines
Redeployment Opportunities
Thinning Launchpads
Mobility Index
Employment Growth

How can Los Angeles Mobilize Talent to Strengthen Opportunity Engines?

This chart highlights the roles that merit recruiting, reskilling, or redesign focus.

Roles inEducation Level
Address Opportunity Gaps
Mobilize Now
Redeploy
Build On Strengths
Mobility Index
Talent Shortage Index

Which High-Mobility Roles Should Los Angeles Target to Unlock Opportunities?

This section highlights individual roles with high talent mobility – occupations where workers can transition into, grow, or move across roles more easily.

Roles in

High Mobility Roles with Talent Shortages in Los Angeles

Talent Flows into Accountants And Auditors

This chart shows transition pathways into Accountants and Auditors

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Feeder Roles

Select a role to see its feeder roles

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