6 L.A. County 'business-friendly' cities

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Six cities, not including Los Angeles, are among Los Angeles County's "most business-friendly" cities, the local economic development agency said Tuesday.

The California cities of Burbank, Cerritos, Lancaster, Long Beach, Palmdale and Santa Clarita were selected for their commitment to attracting and retaining businesses that "provide quality jobs for their residents," the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. said.

One of the cities will win the county's annual Eddy Award honoring economic-development leadership Nov. 6.

In the past 25 years, Los Angeles County has added more than 2.5 million residents but only about 500,000 jobs, the agency said.

"To ensure the economic health of our region, we need to be more aggressive in attracting and retaining businesses and the jobs they bring to our many communities," agency President Bill Allen said.