The reports are good news for commercial real estate developersand other investors across Los Angeles, a county that throughoutthe second half of the 1990s enjoyed moderate growth, but notnearly as much as neighboring Orange, Riverside or San Bernardinocounties. More jobs translates into higher sales at retail centers,additional demand for office and industrial space, more businesstravel for hoteliers and a growing need for housing.

In the first report, economists at California State UniversityFullerton say LA County employers will add more than 75,000 peopleto their workforce next year. That's a solid increase from the70,000 new jobs that are forecast to be created for all of2000.

About 40% of the job growth will come in the service sector.Though service-oriented jobs are often characterized as payingrelatively little, the CSU Fullerton report notes that the sectoralso includes some of the highest-paying jobs of all--includingthose in the Southland's booming entertainment and high-techindustries.