Annual payroll in the region grew 9 percent for the year ending with the third quarter of 1998, although total private sector employment rose less than 1 percent. Comparable public sector data was not available. In real estate, housing prices rose for the second year in a row. Apartment vacancy rates are at 15-year lows. Office and industrial vacancy rates have declined as well.
Construction permits show activity in every sector.
Chapter 11 bankruptcies continued to decline, as did residential notices of default and foreclosures. The entertainment industry continues to be a major contributor to the Valley's economy. The Valley has continued to become more ethnically diverse. The county estimated that 16.6 percent of Valley residents live in poverty. In ethnicity among different communities, San Fernando had the largest share of Hispanic residents with 89 percent, Calabasas and Hidden Hills had the largest share of whites with 84 percent, Lake View Terrace had the largest share of blacks with 21 percent, and Chatsworth had the largest share of Asians with 18 percent.