The Los Angeles County economy will continue its strong growth this year and beyond, according to a forecast released Tuesday from Loyola Marymount University and Beacon Economics. The county’s job market will continue to post strong gains, adding roughly 75,000 jobs for a growth rate of 1.7 percent, just below last year’s robust growth rate of 2 percent, the study forecasts. The unemployment rate, now at 7.9 percent, is expected to dip to 7.3 percent by year’s end. The forecast expects home prices will moderate somewhat, increasing 2.6 percent this year and at an average 4-percent clip for each of the next five years. February’s median home price was $505,000, up 9 percent from a year earlier. Along with the economic forecast by the Los Angeles economic consultancy, the results of an opinion survey of Angelenos on the economy was released. The survey showed Angelenos believe the economy has finally turned the corner. “Angelenos were correct about the expanding economy last year, and they expect things to improve even more this year,” said Fernando Guerra, director of the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount.
