Downtown Long Beach is booming and a report from the State Employment Development Department showed that in the number with unemployment at a mere 4.4% throughout Long Beach as a whole.
Since City-specific data has been collected dating back to 1990, 4.4% is the lowest unemployment number recorded and published by the State Employment Development Department (EDD) for the City of Long Beach. The unemployment rate in Long Beach reached a peak of 14.6% in July 2010, and has now dropped over 10% since before the recession.
“Our Long Beach economy is booming and I’m incredibly proud that our unemployment rate is reaching historic lows,” said Mayor Robert Garcia in a statement. “We have construction cranes in the air, small businesses opening across the city, and large companies choosing to grow and invest in Long Beach.”
A report by Beacon Economics commissioned by the Downtown Long Beach Alliance recently showed that employees in DTLB are amongst the highest paid in the city.
As a further resource to help entrepreneurs navigate the process of starting a business, the City launched its new business portal, BizPort, in October 2016, which helps clarify, simplify, and provide valuable resources for entrepreneurs. The City’s Innovation Team (i-team) partnered with several City Departments to proactively listen to entrepreneurs’ needs, and work together on solutions.