The ongoing drought in California could dampen employment growth in coming years and have a ripple effect on several industries in the state, according to a UCLA report released Wednesday. Economists said in the quarterly forecast that arid conditions in 2013, the driest year on record for the Golden State, could diminish the fishing and manufacturing sectors in the state. However, the effect depends on whether the drought is "normal" or the beginning of "a long arid period." California's employment could be suppressed about 0.2% during the next few years because of the drought, the report concluded.

"If the drought is like the ones we had before, which are plentiful in California, then the data suggests it's not a big deal economically," said Edward Leamer, director of the UCLA forecast. "If this is really a climate change, that is a different story."

Even without the weather factor, Los Angeles is grappling with major problems with its job market, which has fallen behind other comparable major cities. Los Angeles has gone 23 years without job growth, the report said. From December 1990 through December 2013, the city suffered a 3.1% loss of jobs, worse than even Detroit, with a 2.8% loss, and Cleveland, at 0.2%.