County Jobless Rate Dips to 2.7%, Lowest in Southland : Unemployment: Government- and tourism-related hiring offset losses in the construction and electronics industries.

Orange County’s unemployment rate fell to 2.7% in February, down from 2.9% in January, as a surge of hiring by government and tourism- and service-related businesses added more than 8,000 jobs to county payrolls.

Total employment in the county rose to 1,210,400 in February, up 0.7% from 1,202,000 in January and 2.3% higher than the year-earlier total of 1,183,000, the state Employment Development Department reported.

The largest job increases in February were reported by business and personal services employers, whose payrolls increased by 3,200 from January for a total of 310,800, or 25.7% of all employment in the county.

State and local government employment rose 2.5%, or 2,700 jobs, to a total of 110,300 for the month.

Tourism-related employment, a category that includes restaurants, hotels and amusement parks, increased by 1,500 jobs to a total of 131,100 positions in February.

The most significant employment decline was recorded in the construction industry, which lost 800 jobs in February because of seasonal factors and a slowdown in new housing construction.

The electronics industry, still struggling with government funding cutbacks and a slump in the computer business, lost 500 jobs during the month, according to state EDD figures.

The county’s 2.7% jobless rate was the third-lowest among the state’s populous counties, trailing--as usual--the suburban Bay Area counties of Marin, 2.4%, and San Mateo, 2.5%.

It also was the lowest unemployment rate in Southern California. Riverside County posted the highest rate at 6.5%, followed by Los Angeles, 5.5%, San Bernardino, 4.7% and San Diego, 3.7%.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN ORANGE COUNTY

January 1988: 2.9%. February 1990: 2.7%