New residential construction boomed in fiscal year 2000. Of the lagging indicators, residential notices of default, which declined steeply in 1998, have been fairly constant since that time. Residential foreclosures continue to decline. Chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcies declined in the last year, although Chapter 11 filings increased. Since the early 1990s, retail sales in the five smaller Valley cities have risen, both absolutely and as a share of total retail sales in Los Angeles County.
Tourism is up, reflected in low hotel vacancy rates and rising room rates.
The Valley share of Los Angeles County public assistance recipients has generally declined since mid-1997. But, during the same period, the Valley's share of unemployment insurance claims increased. Between 1990 and 1998, the population of the San Fernando Valley is estimated to have grown by nearly 10 percent. The share of San Fernando Valley residents living in poverty increased, from 11 to 18 percent. The Valley went from having 13 to 14 percent of the County's poor residents.