Blue-collar blues in the Southern California job market

But arguably the biggest problem facing Southern California is seen in the decline in higher-paying blue-collar jobs, which long provided opportunity for newcomers and working-class people. With an estimated 348,000 industrial jobs, Los Angeles retains the biggest manufacturing workforce in the nation. But industrial jobs are up sharply nationwide, while L.A. has lost 6.8 percent of its manufacturing jobs over the past five years. Over the last two decades, the area has lost more than 46 percent of its manufacturing jobs — almost 300,000 positions.