Number of LA children dropping

LOS ANGELES, May 25 (UPI) -- The number of children living in Los Angeles County has dropped, prompting concern about a future labor shortage, a California university study indicates.

The report, "Aging in California and Los Angeles County," released Tuesday by the University of Southern California, showed the county's population of 5- to 9-year-old children dropped from 802,047 to 633,690, a decrease of 21 percent, from 2000 to 2010.

California's average decrease was 8.1 percent, the study showed. There was no mention of study methodology.

"In the long run this is really a bad problem because these kids are going to grow up and the ones who are missing [from LA County] are likely not going to work here," said report author Dowell Myers. "That workforce is going to be in very short supply."

Myers noted one of the reasons for the decline is the "extreme end" of the maturing of the baby boomer generation, resulting in declining student enrollment and school closures, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

"There's just fewer potential parents and that's part of what's driving it," Myers said. "The implications are that we really need to think about building a more supportive environment for families and kids. Our children are a precious and diminishing resource, and they deserve more support."

The authors of the report also cited findings by the Brookings Institution showing the greater Los Angeles area was out of step with a national trend by having a declining Hispanic child population.

"We're heading into uncharted territory," Myers said.