Economic Community Assessment on West Hollywood California Essay

West Hollywood is a city incorporated in the County of Los Angeles in California, U. S. The city was founded in 1984 and currently, it has a population of 37,000 but the figure swell at night and over the weekends or during major events such as Gay and Lesbian parades. The city is one of those notably populated with gays in the U. S with well over 41% of the total population being gay This paper will discuss the economic details of the West Hollywood City in terms of housing; costs, types, ages, ownership etc, household incomes, resources available for families, major businesses, employment statistics and other economic assessments of the city. Business The current number of businesses (small and large) in West Hollywood City is 1,654. Owing to the fact that the society is changing, more immigrants are coming in and the technology is advancing, then, the business will grow to a higher level in the near future and that the number of business units will expand geographically and size wise Business profiles Category Number State(California) Retail/wholesale and manufacturers 860 53% Corporate Headquarters 35 2% Service providers 487 29% Production; T. V, radio, publishing etc. 70 4% Professionals 202 12% The main occupations of the people in the area are; design, cultural activities, small business and small scale farming in the western part of the city. Employment The top ten employers are; Los Angeles County MTA, Pacific Design Centre, The Lot, House of Blues, The Vons Companies, Wyndham Bel Age Hotel, City of West Hollywood, Hyatt West Hollywood, The Mondrian Hotel and Le Parc. These companies employ a huge majority of the population especially the young adults between the ages of 24-44 years. The rate of unemployment in the City is currently at 2. 9%. According to a survey conducted in 2000 on the employment statistics of the region, the number of persons working full time were 66% of the total population, 8% working part time, 3% were unemployed, 15% retired and 8% not falling in any category. Compared to the Los Angeles unemployment rate which is 3.5% and that of the United states which is now at 3. 7% according to the latest figures by the U. S Bureau of statistics(U. S Bureau of statistics 2006, (2006): Employment statistics, U. S Bureau of statistics) Housing Most of the houses were built during the 1950s and constitute about 30% of all the buildings in the city today. The rest were built later or earlier than that i. e. ; < 1940s-16%, 1940s-8%, 1960s- 23%, 1970s-18%, 1980s-6%. And 1990s- 1% There has also been a number of hosing structures which were built in the last five years but they are still under construction or have just been completed. There are in general 22,000 households in West Hollywood occupied by the over 37,000 persons. According to information contained in the City of West Hollywood Housing element, 2000, the number of households that contain single persons has increased i. e. from 42% in 1994 to 55% in 1998. The number of households with children in the year 2000 was about 2% and the figure is expected to increase given that the number of lesbian and gay marriages is on the increase. The housing situation in West Hollywood City is considered favorable and even in surplus going by the number of houses which are currently vacant. Compared to other areas where there is shortage of housing units, the city boasts of an organized housing structure planned, designed and constructed in a sophisticated manner. Those houses occupied by the councils and the government authorities; institutions such as schools etc comprise about 10% of the buildings while the rest are residential, manufacturing and business premises. All the business houses pay taxes to the local authority. The type of housing as described by the figure below shows that more families are staying single per housing unit. Depending on the size and the ownership of house, the rent of the housing units range from $ 10,000 to as $60,000 annually. Most of the housing units are apartments