December Jobless Rate for County Declines to 3.7%

Fueled in part by seasonal hiring for Christmas, Orange County’s jobless rate dropped from 3.9% in November to 3.7% in December--a low reached three times before in 1986.

That compares with one year ago, when the jobless rate in the county was one-tenth of a percentage point higher, according to a monthly report released Thursday by the state Employment Development Department. The December, 1986, figures give Orange County the lowest unemployment rate of any county in Southern California for the 12th consecutive month. Only Marin and San Mateo counties had a lower jobless rate than Orange County, registering 3.2 and 3.3 respectively. Los Angeles--with its much larger work force--had an unemployment rate of 6% in December.

The highest unemployment rate in Orange County last year was recorded in July, when it hit 4.7%

Orange County’s total job count rose in December to a record high of 1,051,700, up 3.5%--or 35,200 jobs--from one year earlier. Of the increase, 3,600 jobs resulted from seasonal hiring for Christmas and from new stores adding staff. The retail-trade job count was 213,300 in December, up 9,700--or 4.8%--over the past 12 months. State officials are already projecting a seasonal increase in joblessness for January because of retail stores laying off holiday personnel. But the report predicts that continued growth in some sectors is expected for the first half of 1987.