(The Los Angeles Business Journal) One-third of L.A. County businesses anticipate cutting their payrolls next year, more than double the 14 percent rate for the current year, according to a business survey released Tuesday.The findings by the Los Angeles County Business Federation survey come even as Los Angeles County’s unemployment rate jumped in September to a modern record high of 12.7 percent amid the recession.
The survey also found that lack of available credit, the state budget deficit and rising workers’ compensation costs were the top concerns of the 455 county businesses surveyed late September and early October. That’s a shift from previous years when transportation, crime and education were the dominant local business concerns.
“This suggests a structural shift in business operations as businesses look at working more with less,” said Tracy Rafter, chief executive of the Business Federation, which plans to focus its lobbying efforts on remediating the concerns outlined in the survey.
