O.C. Jobless Rate Fell to 6.1% With December Hiring

Buoyed by holiday retail hiring, Orange County’s employment situation improved in December.

The jobless rate fell by one percentage point to 6.1% last month, according to figures released Friday.

About 85,900 people were out of work in December, about 11,200 fewer than a month earlier, according to the state Employment Development Department.

The biggest gains came in the retail industry, which added 2,200 jobs during the month; and wholesale trade, which added 1,900.

The jobless rate was the lowest in Orange County since the 6.1% level in July. But Eleanor Jordan, labor market analyst for the EDD in Santa Ana, said that, when adjusted for seasonal factors, the unemployment rate was flat.

Esmael Adibi, Chapman University economist in Orange, said the December figures are deceptive because they show a big increase in employment but a decline in the numbers of county payroll jobs. That means there were many people working odd jobs or in temporary positions.

Economists say that, despite the lower jobless rate, the likelihood of a strong recovery remains dim. A true recovery isn’t expected until the end of 1993.

“We will have a continuation of job losses until the middle of 1993,” Adibi said. “Hopefully, after that, we will see gradual improvement.”

The gains in retail and wholesale trade were offset somewhat by losses in construction and services. Employment in construction fell by 1,200 jobs to 47,300 last month, while services lost 1,900 positions to 320,300.

High-tech job losses stabilized in December, with the county employing 73,800 in that sector, the same as in November. But for all of 1992, the hard-hit industry lost 4,300 positions to defense cuts and computer industry price wars.

The year-end figures do not indicate a recovery during 1992. Despite December’s decrease, Orange County’s jobless rate was still well above its 4.4% mark at the end of 1991. The number of jobs in the county totaled 1.131 million in December, a decline of 31,300 for the year.

Most of the year-to-year job losses came from the manufacturing sector, which saw 11,700 positions disappear. And retail trade lost 7,700 jobs.

The county’s November unemployment rate of 7.1% was the highest level in the past nine years and came near the national rate of 7.2%.

Orange County’s latest figures follow a statewide trend. For December, California’s jobless rate fell to 9.3%, compared to 9.9% for the previous month. In Los Angeles County, however, the unemployment rate hit 9.8% for December, up from 9.4% for November.