BuSINESS
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019:: LATIMES.COM/BUSINESS
C
DOW26,935.07▼159.72 S&P5002,992.07 14.72▼▼▼▼▼NASDAQ8,117.67 65.21 GOLD$1,507.30 8.90▲ OIL$58.09 0.04 EURO$1.1015 .0037 U.S. T-NOTE(10-yr.)1.75% 0.California’s record job ex-
pansion accelerated in Au-
gust across broad sectors of
the economy, and unem-
ployment remained low as
the state weathered the
challenges of slowing global
growth.
Employers added 34,
positions last month — the
114th month that payrolls
grew and the longest expan-
sion in state record-keeping,
state officials reported.
Since the post-recession
turnaround began in Febru-
ary 2010, California has
gained more than 3.3 million
jobs, accounting for 15% of
U.S. job growth — more than
its share of the nation’s
population.
California’s major stal-
warts — business and pro-
fessional services, health
and education, and tourism
— led the August advance.
Government hiring was also
strong, boosted in part by
workers for the 2020 census.
Unemployment in Au-
gust held steady at 4.1%, the
same as in July and as in Au-
gust 2018 — an indication
that the state’s economy is
close to full employment —
with economists believing
that most people who want
jobs can get them. The U.S.
jobless rate was 3.7%.
“It is time to celebrate,”
said Sung Won Sohn, a busi-
ness economist at Loyola
Marymount University.
“The average monthly job
gain over the past three
months was 30,667, com-
pared to the average of
27,800 during the first half of
the year. The economy is
moving full steam ahead.”
Nonetheless, economists
continued to point to Cali-
fornia’s shrinking labor force
— the number of people
holding jobs and looking for
jobs — as a danger signal.
“The state is short of
both skilled and nonskilled
labor,” Sohn said. “In the
past, the sizzling job market
has persuaded students,
mothers, retirees and those
on disability to rejoin the la-
bor market, but the pool hasSTATE’S
PAYROLLS
EXPAND
AGAIN IN
AUGUST
California’s labor
force is shrinking,
though, which
economists say is a
danger signal.
By Margot Roosevelt[SeeJobs,C4]paign.
“I don’t think I need it be-
fore the election. I think peo-
ple know that we’re doing a
great job,” the president
said at a joint news confer-
ence Friday with Australian
Prime Minister Scott Morri-
son.
But in a sign of possible
turbulence, a Chinese dele-
gation canceled trips to
Montana and Nebraska
starting this weekend and
into next week for discus-
sions with the farming com-
munities there. A spokes-
woman for the Nebraska De-
partment of Agriculture
confirmed that China had
scrapped the visit to her
state but said she would de-
fer any questions about the
reason for the decision toPresident Trump said he
did not need to secure a deal
with China to end the trade
war before the 2020 election
and stressed that he wanted
a comprehensive pact and
would not settle for a narrow
agreement.
“We’re looking for a com-
plete deal. I’m not looking
for a partial deal,” Trump
said, rejecting suggestions
that he needed an agree-
ment for his reelection cam-
Election won’t
spur trade deal,
president insists
PRESIDENT TRUMP, with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday during a White House
news conference, says of a potential U.S.-China trade agreement: “I don’t think I need it before the election.”Alex WongGetty ImagesTrump says he won’t
settle on a narrow
accord with China.
By Demetri
Sevastopulo
and James Politi
[SeeTrade,C3]The bootleg medications
were smuggled across the
border and sold to mostly
Latino immigrants in public
spaces throughout Los An-
geles — at swap meets,
parks, beauty salons and
makeshift stands outside
mom-and-pop grocery
stores.
The drugs were cheap,
and the customers — mostly
from Mexico and Central
America — did not need pre-
scriptions to buy them.
Some of the products fea-
tured brand names and col-
orful packaging that immi-
grants knew well from their
home countries — including
Ciprofloxacina, a potent an-
tibiotic, and Dolo Nervi
Doce — translated as “Pain
Nerve 12” — an injectable B-
complex vitamin taken for
fatigue.
Many were counterfeits.
Others, though legal south
of the border, were not ap-
proved for sale in the United
States. Some had expired.
Still others would have been
legal if sold by people li-
censed to do so — but none
of the sellers held pharma-
cist licenses or any other
medical credential.
Los Angeles County au-
thorities seized the drugs
last month in an operation
that led to the arrest of eight
people. Their haul included
100,000 foreign-made pills,
compounds and injectable
medicines they said could
have caused serious harm or
even death to consumers.
Immigrants, not just
from Latin American coun-
tries but from all over the
world — and some non-im-
migrants too — are purchas-
ing a wide array of illegal
medications in black mar-
kets that are common not
only in Southern California
but in states such as Arizo-
na, Maryland, Texas, Virgin-
ia and Washington, accord-
ing to law enforcement offi-
cials and others familiar
with the trade.
“We’re seeing this in all
communities across the
country that don’t have ac-
cess to healthcare services,”
said Adolph Falcon, execu-
tive vice president of the Na-
tional Alliance for Hispanic
Health, a Washington advo-
Bootleg
drugs a
risk to
migrants
People without access
to healthcare are
buying cheap, illegal
medications in black
markets across U.S.
By John M. Glionna
[SeeMedications,C4]Intrigued by the recent explosion of in-
terest in vintage SUVs, with prices surging
on 1960s and 1970s Ford Broncos, Chevy
Blazers, Jeep CJs and Land Rovers, I asked
someone at Toyota, “Do you still make a
Land Cruiser?”
So overshadowed in recent years by the
massively popular Range Rovers, which
now could replace the Mercedes-Benz as
the cliche “California Chevy,” this venera-
ble veteran has slipped a bit below the
radar. As sport utility vehicle sales climbed,
Land Cruiser sales stagnated. The total
number of these Toyotas sold in the U.S.
dropped from an impressive 15,000 units in
2000 to a sorry 3,219 in 2018.
Toyota does, in fact, still make the Land
Cruiser. With 2020 models arriving shortly
in dealerships, I decided to borrow one for a
couple of weeks to see if the legendary road
warrior still lived up to its legend.
The vehicle has a colorful history,
stretching back to World War II, when the
Japanese army captured an American Jeep
in the Philippines and asked Toyota to copy
it. After the war, the U.S. Army asked Toyo-
ta to build moreHIGHWAY 1: AUTO REVIEW
THE 2020Toyota Land Cruiser is almost 7 feet tall, almost 7 feet wide, 16 feet long and weighs just
under 3 tons. It offers generous space, a soft suspension and good visibility from its elevated perch.Photographs from ToyotaComforts of home,
and as big as a house
The road feels far, far away in the lumbering Land Cruiser
AMENITIESinclude heated and ventilated front seats, rear
climate control and a “cooler box” for snacks and beverages.By Charles Fleming[SeeLand Cruiser,C6]