Los Angeles County will lose 168,000 jobs to the recession this year, although the San Fernando Valley will fare better than the region's other communities, according to an economic forecast released today The projected losses amount to 4.1 percent of the 3.9 million people who had jobs at the beginning of the year and come atop a 1.3 percent decline -- 52,800 jobs -- reported in 2008, said the updated report from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. The organization's original forecast, issued in February, predicted a job-loss rate 2.2 percent this year, with a .9 percent decline in 2010. The revised forecast now envisions the county's work force will shrink 2 percent, or by 78,700 jobs, next year. Jack Kyser, founding economist at the LAEDC, said most of this year's losses -- 155,000 jobs -- occurred during the first six months. 'We've done a heck of a lot of the damage already,' he said. The Valley will lose an estimated 1,700 jobs this year and 1,000 jobs next year, the report said -- a relatively good showing because of the region's diverse business interests. This is a marked improvement from 2008, when the Valley lost 7,000 jobs as the housing market collapse devastated the local operations of Washington Mutual and Countrywide Financial Corp. 'The San Fernando Valley is doing well compared to some other areas out there,' Kyser said. He added that the neighboring Santa Clarita Valley -- where the entertainment and tourism sectors have been hit hard by the recession -- is expected to lose 6,000 jobs this year. Bruce Ackerman, president and CEO of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, said he was heartened by the local job picture. 'We're actually seeing ... a little bit of bright news and recovery news,' Ackerman said. 'Some of the banks I talk to are starting to make loans and feel good about them.' Kyser expects the economy to bottom out by year's end, followed by a long, slow recovery. While health care, private education and commercial and industrial construction will boost the economy, it will be dragged down by international trade, manufacturing, tourism, home construction, commercial real estate and local government operations, the LAEDC said. The forecasts also includes a report card that assigns a letter grade to all of Southern California's 11 major economic drivers. This year they range from C-minus for commercial aerospace to B for business and professional management services. Motion picture and television production, a key component of the Valley's economy, received one of the better grades, a B-minus. Kyser noted that the ongoing recession is the deepest since the downturn of 1973-75. 'It's been a while since we've had a business report card this gloomy,' he said. 