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List/13″/netherby/dt1st/mike2nd By JENNIFER NETHERBY Staff Reporter Unemployment has reached record lows in Southern California, but you’d never know it by looking at the biggest companies in the San Fernando Valley. Despite an expansion in the local economy and job force, most of the Valley’s largest companies saw a drop in their workforces during the past year, according to a Business Journal survey of the 15 largest Valley-based employers. “These are what you’d have to call industry-specific trends,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. “You have an overall economy that is still doing quite good.” Burbank-based Walt Disney Co., one of the two top employers in the Valley, has 12,000 people in its L.A. County ranks, 1 percent fewer than last year. The company increased its employment nationwide by nearly 2 percent over that period. Disney has been suffering from declining earnings and stock value for the past year, due to a poorly performing film slate and losses at its ABC network. Meanwhile, Universal Studios Inc. now rivals Disney in L.A. County jobs, increasing its ranks by 3,000 employees, up from 9,000 a year ago. Part of the increase is likely due to Universal’s purchase of the PolyGram music empire. GTE California Inc. has reduced its L.A. employee ranks slightly, down to 10,584 from 11,077 a year ago. The company increased its nationwide employment by 6,000. Lockheed Martin Corp. (No. 4) and Litton Industries Inc. (No. 7) both reported fewer L.A. employees today than a year ago, reflecting a continuing shrinkage in the defense budget. There is talk in Congress of increasing defense spending, which could be good news for both companies. Kyser is predicting a 2 percent increase in L.A. County employment in 1999 over 1998. Most of the new jobs will be in growing sectors like high technology, he said. “It’s very interesting,” Kyser said. “Despite a loss in traditional aerospace and a slowdown in employment in the motion picture industry, the (growth) rate is good considering what’s going on.” Countrywide Home Loans Inc. is the only company in the top five that has increased its L.A.-area ranks in the past year. Its L.A. ranks are 6 percent larger than last year, modest compared with the 31 percent companywide employment growth over that period. Other employers that increased their L.A. employee ranks include biopharmaceutical maker Amgen (No. 6), insurer 20th Century Industries (No. 13), and Providence Health System (No. 10). Kyser points out that other employers will likely show up on the list in the coming years. DreamWorks SKG has expanded its ranks at its Glendale animation campus and studio operations in Universal City. And Princess Cruises announced it would move its corporate headquarters and all 1,200 employees to Santa Clarita. The entertainment industry remains the dominant source of employment in the Valley. But insurance companies, defense contractors and health care firms also have a major presence. Anheuser-Busch Cos. (No. 14) and Nestle USA (No. 12) were the only consumer product manufacturers that made the list. Both are local operations of larger companies based elsewhere.

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