Los Angeles has begun a slow economic recovery and may actually begin adding jobs in 2011, according to a cautiously optimistic report released Wednesday morning by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, a non-profit organization charged with tracking the outlook for business in L.A. County.

The Port of Los Angeles (Creative Commons)

The report predicts that, after a dismal 2010 that saw unemployment rates as high as 12.5 percent - the second highest in the nation - the county will finally hit a modest upswing in employment in 2011, with the County picking up about 24,100 jobs over the next year after losing 63,500 in 2010.

Economists with the corporation see this as a sign of gaining momentum, though the actual projected growth is only a fraction of what has been lost since the beginning of the recession in 2007.

“Many industries are back in the black and employment is rising in some areas,” said the corporation's chief economist Nancy Sidhu in a press release. “But the recession was so deep, 2011 won’t feel all that good despite improvements in most industries. However, the state is headed in the right direction, and the economy will seem even better by 2012.”

The estimated job growth in 2011 would reduce the Los Angeles unemployment rate from 12.5 percent to about 12.4 percent. This incremental growth is expected to continue into 2012, with unemployment possibly dropping to 11.7 percent. Economists credit projected increases in international trade over the next year – which will benefit the Port of L.A. – as well as the tourism and entertainment industries.

Reacting to projections of sustained high unemployment for the next couple years and lagging growth compared with the state and nation at large, an LAist blogger sarcastically wrote: "Way to go, L.A.!"

The leisure and hospitality and science and technology industries are predicted to see the most gains. Meanwhile, government employment will likely drop by as much as 18.7 percent.

The housing industry will also see only modest improvement over the next couple years, according to the forecast.

The projected job figures coincide with indications that total personal income in the county grew 2.5 percent in 2010 and will grow even more in 2011. Though job growth is likely to be slow, people lucky enough to have jobs will be making more money, on average.

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