LOCAL : O.C. Jobless Rate Up .3% to 3.6%

Following the usual summer trend, Orange County’s unemployment rate edged upward in July to 3.6% from 3.3% in June, according to the state Employment Development Department.

The seasonal flood of teachers and students looking for jobs traditionally pushes up the July and August rates, according to Eleanor Jordan, the department’s job market analyst for Orange County.

Although July’s 3.6% rate is the highest the county has seen since the 3.5% recorded in July, 1988, it remains far below the 5% level that economists say marks the beginning of a worrisome unemployment situation.

A total of 50,500 workers in the county were unemployed in July, the department said, compared to 46,300 in June and 47,300 in July, 1988.