O.C. Jobless Rate at Highest Level Since July, 1985 : Unemployment: Layoffs in manufacturing and construction were largely responsible for the 4.7% rate. Economists say it will edge higher before leveling off.

Orange County’s jobless rate jumped to 4.7% in January--the highest level since July, 1985--with every employment sector but agriculture losing jobs from the previous month, the state Employment Development Department reported Monday.

Several economists said they expect the unemployment rate to increase to at least 5% before leveling off or edging down in the second quarter. January’s unemployment rate was up from 4.1% in December. The rate in January, 1990, was 2.9%.

Seasonal layoffs and a deepening recession boosted the estimated number of unemployed county residents to 64,600 for the month, up from 55,900 in December and from 40,100 in January, 1990, said Eleanor Jordan, Orange County labor market analyst for the EDD.

Still, while the county’s unemployment rate grew over the year, it remained the lowest among the state’s large urban counties: The unadjusted jobless rate in January for Los Angeles was 6.6%; Riverside, 10.1%; San Bernardino, 7.9%; Ventura, 7.5%, and San Diego, 6.3%.

The statewide unemployment rate, adjusted for seasonal factors, was 7%, third highest among the nation’s largest states.

Despite the increased jobless rate, Orange County-based employers reported a total of 1,209,700 civilian employees in January--up 0.7% from 1,201,800 workers a year earlier.

The job count can increase at the same time the unemployment rate rises because the two figures represent different measures.

The monthly unemployment rate is a tally of Orange County residents without jobs, regardless of where they previously were employed, while the job count is an estimate of the number of people on the payroll of businesses located in the county, regardless of where those employees live.

Jordan said normal seasonal patterns accounted for the loss of 8,100 retail jobs and 5,700 service industry jobs between December and January. But every other employment sector except agriculture also lost jobs during the month, she said, ranging from 100 positions in mining and related industries, such as oil drilling, to 3,900 jobs in construction.

Plummeting manufacturing and construction employment were largely responsible for the tumble from the January, 1990, jobless level, she said. Manufacturers, plagued by defense spending cuts and deepening economic slowdown, slashed 11,900 jobs from their payrolls in the county over the year for a net employment decline of 3.7%, the state report shows.

While hefty, that paled in comparison to the decline experienced by the county’s construction businesses, which are staggering through the second year of an industrywide depression. The local construction industry attacked its collective payroll with a ripsaw, lopping off 9,800 jobs over the year--a 14.2% decline.

The building industry was hit from several sides: consumer reluctance to pay higher house prices; the credit crunch related to problems in the bank and thrift industries; buyer unease because of Middle East war fears, and the onset of recession.

And underscoring the impact of the fourth-quarter economic slump, Jordan said January also marked the first time since the last recession that retail employment was lower than in January of the prior year.

The county’s unemployment scene “is tracking along the lines of what we had expected,” said Chapman College economic forecaster James Doti. “We haven’t seen the worst yet, but it won’t get too much worse.”

Doti said Chapman’s economists expect the county’s jobless rate to peak at about 5% with a real job growth rate for the year of 0.3%.

First Interstate Bank economist Philip Vincent said he, too, expects the local jobless rate to inch slightly higher while job growth comes to a near halt. But he said the county still is in good shape to weather the rest of the recession.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN ORANGE COUNTY

June 1987: 3.2%

Jan. 1991: 4.7%

Source: California Employment Developement Department