Los Angeles County in California is anchored for business by the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale Metropolitan Division. The leading industry in this local economy is Tourism and Travel, with all of the adjunct sectors - Accomodations, Retail, Dining in all levels of establishments (ncluding taverns and clubs), Sports, Entertainment, and Media.

Southern California was settled originally by Indigenous Peoples that included the Chumash and Tongva nations. Around 1540, Portugese explorers came through the area, claimed it for the kingdom of Spain and Portugal, but did not stay. 

Over 200 years later, Spanish nationals explored the area again, making a settlement with Catholic worship facilities and gathering local Mestizos (Mexican, Spanish, and Native American mixed heritages) into a town that was founded as Los Angeles in 1781 and finally incorporated in 1850, just before California became a state. Spanish, Mexican, and Indigenous cultures enrich the landscape and the culture of Los Angeles in profound ways to make it an fascinating area.  

In 2008, Los Angeles is home to nearly 4,000,000 people and is the second largest city in America, behind only New York City. LA is known as a Mega City across the globe, famous for films, fashion, media stars, and gossip. However, the city is also a business center for domestic and international trade, science, technologies, and high quality education. In fact, it is one fo the few places in America where Archaeology and Anthropology Teachers are needed.

Except for Walt Disney Company, filmmakers in general are not on the list of Los Angeles Top Employers. This is true even though there may be nearly 2,000 film studios in the county at any given time.

• Walt Disney Company, Burbank
• Los Angeles County Government
• Los Angeles Unified School District - pre-K through 12
• US Federal Government
• UCLA - University of California, Los Angeles
• Los Angeles City Government
• State of California Government
• Kaiser Permanente - Medical and Health
• Northrop Grumman Corp.
• Boeing Co.
• Kroger Company - Home and grocery stores
• University of Southern California (USC)
• Bank of America - Financial services

Combined, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beachcomprise a large, important Port Authority that is instrumental in shipping and commerce worldwide. This port overall is also a major employer. The Port of Los Angeles was actually discovered in the early 1540s by the Portuguese, who named it Bay of Smokes, because of the smoke rising from the fires of Native American Hunters nearby. It became a trading post locale and was made an office city Harbor in 1907, growing significantly during World War II. In the 21st century, it is the largest, busiest port in the US.

The best way to find a job in Los Angeles may be to try for one in the categories of fastest-growing by either number of jobs each year or by percentage increase. These jobs Include Computer/IT jobs (especially Network positions at the top of the first column below), Makeup Artists, Sales of any kind, Personal Care or Personal Assistant, or Teaching (if you are certified). Food & beverage jobs are abundant, while all the rest of the positions listed below require advanced training and/or certification, with a few not paying high wages. The cost of living in Los Angeles is higher than in other states and will require a relatively higher income in comparison. Travel Nursing and related positions, even if you live right in LA, also offer payment of rent or mortgage for up to 12 months. 

Lower level healthcare positions are often found at clinics and hospitals that offer good benefits and tuition reimbursement for employees that wish to progress in the medical and health and/or allied health professions. This is a good avenue for finding work more quickly than in some other positions and then advancing through continuing education on the job or at a local school.

1. Wholesale and Retail Sales related jobs, especially Retail Sales Persons
2. Education, Training & Library jobs
3. Personal Care/Service and Personal Adies - health and business related.
4. Office & Administrative Support
5. Other Personal Care and Service Workers
6. Healthcare Practitioners and Techs
7. All Food & Beverage Preparation and Service jobs
8. Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
9. Business and Financial Operations
10. Medical and Health Practitioners - includes cosmetic and plastic surgeons and skin care specialists as well as Nurses: RNs and LPNs. Southern California is the perfect place for Travelers in the medical field - Travel Nurses and others.

You may decide to relocate to California, or to move to LA from elsewhere in the stae. If so, it is a good idea to arrange for interviews and even to have a job secured in LA before going to the time and expense of uprooting yourself to relocate to this huge Mega-opolis. the following sources offer considerable job listings.

• The Los Angeles Recruiter
• City of Los Angeles Government Employment
• Craigslist
• Simply Hired, the job search and labor information site, declares that they see the most common jobs found in LA to be management positions, professional, sales, office support, and service jobs. See their LA job listings at SIMPLY HIRED by performing a sear at http://www.simplyhired.com or go to http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/l-Los+Angeles%252C+CA.

Los Angeles offers dozens of technical and vocational schools, community colleges, 4-year colleges and universities, and professional schools. The website called LosAngelesEducation.com lists them all. The site offers describes of schools in neatly arranged categories, with course offerings, placement rates, and internships available, which are numerous. In fact, Walt Disney Company, mentioned above, offers a wide range of internships in partnership with educational facilities.

A few of the higher education choices for the LA area include the following Public Schools:

• University of California, LA (UCLA)
• California State University, LA
• Los Angeles City College
• West Coast University - offers an array of nursing degrees in LA, Anaheim, and Ontario, California.

Private Schools include Loyola Marymount University, Occidental College, Pepperdine University, University of Southern California, and others.

Native American College in Los Angeles, the state's only Tribal college, closed in 2005, but many of the other schools offer Native American Studies and some are home to ongoing in-depth studies of the surrounding Indigenous Peoples in California, the Southwest US, and Mexico. The graphic at right shows many of the language groups that already have been discovered and studied.

LA is a leading LEED city in America, with certified buildings in all industries, certified green homes, a green transit system, and at least one green entertainment business.

LA uses solar power for public energy and recycling over 800 pounds of food from restaurants and grocers monthly. in 2006, LA County named "America's Birdiest County" by the San Diego Audubon Society. Los Angeles is also home to the Green West Expo/Conference, the first tradeshow of all possible green products and services to date.

The city is huge, and so are the opportunities for spectator sports, recreational sports & activities, and even jobs related to these industries that associate themselves with Travel and Tourism.

Pro Sports Teams

• Dodgers Baseball - Dodger Stadium/Park is to be improved and enlarged by 2012, providing a number of jobs in different industries.
• Galaxy Soccer
• La Kings Hockey
• Los Angeles Clippers Basketball
• Los Angeles Sparks: Women's Basketball
• Los Angeles Lakers