Industrial Policy

A primary activity for the Economic Roundtable is the development of strategies that will contribute to a robust economy supporting a desirable quality of life for Southern California residents.

Programs Include:

• The Fuel Cell Buyers Consortium, which brings together MTA, AQMD, and Los Angeles City and County in a coordinated program to develop and purchase zero-emission transit buses as a means of improving air quality and public transit, and creating local jobs.
• Integration of detailed industry and employment data with input-output modeling to identify target industries for local economic development.
• Analysis of the quantity of air emissions produced per job by each industry in the South Coast Basin.
• Analysis of survival strategies, financial needs, and factors affecting diversification of defense-linked firms into commercial markets.
• Longitudinal surveys of local business environments, sales and employment trends, and business assistance priorities.
• Analysis of impacts that growth of different industries will have on cities' public balance sheet and local employment.
• Industrial growth strategies based on absorption of local workers.

Labor Market Information

Labor market information serves as a road map to the world of work. Information developed by the Economic Roundtable includes:

• Annual survey of Los Angeles area employers carried out under a State grant to obtain information about: hiring requirements, employment opportunities and job conditions in major entry-level occupations, economic prospects for major industries, and overall trends in the Los Angeles economy.
• Development of community-level employment data that enables detailed analysis of the kinds of industries that are present, and the number of workers they have, in geographic areas as small as a census tract.
• Development of a master plan for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, outlining future needs for labor market information and concepts for integrating and restructuring current occupational classification systems.
• Analysis of dysfunctions in the labor market serving construction workers in south-central Los Angeles.
• Analysis of labor market conditions for homeless job seekers and people at risk of homeless in each community.
• Analysis of jobs and earnings of welfare recipients, factors identifying work-readiness, job openings, and education and supportive service strategies.

Human Services

The Economic Roundtable develops demonstration programs that offer comprehensive support for the homeless, addicts, and justice system offenders.

Programs include:

• Project New Start, an intensive residential program for women addicts newly released from jail.
• Long Beach Homeless Employment Program, planning and implementation assistance for a comprehensive social service and employment program.
• West Hollywood Community Needs Assessment, identifying social service needs and priorities of residents.
• Project Paycheck, a comprehensive rehabilitation and employment program for chronically relapsing homeless addicts in downtown Los Angeles that is being implemented by a consortium of nine service providers.