County’s Unemployment Rate Climbs Slightly in July, to 3.5%
Orange County’s unemployment rate for July rose slightly to 3.5%, from 3.2% in June.
The July rate was a high for the year, but it was still well below the 4.6% rate of a year earlier, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And the county’s July jobless rate was lower than the 5.5% statewide rate and the 5.9% national rate, which is adjusted for seasonal fluctuations.
The county’s July and August rates are typically the highest of the year--largely because teachers are not working during the summer, said Daniel Johnson, a labor market analyst for the state Department of Employment Development.
In July, the Orange County work force totaled 1,273,300, while those without jobs totaled 45,700. A year earlier, the county’s work force was 1,201,500, while 58,400 people were jobless.
No particular industry showed significant drops in the number of workers last month.
But two big gainers were retail trade and services. Retail trade employment rose 6.9% to 211,900 workers, contrasted with 198,000 workers in July, 1986. The number of workers in the services industry grew 6.25%, to 275,400 from 259,200 a year earlier.
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