Orange County Business : Where the Jobs Are

The path to economic recovery has been a rough one for Orange County workers--and the businesses that hire them. By May, the latest month for which Orange County figures are available, the recession had resulted in the loss of 64,200 jobs from the all-time high of 1,182,100 in December, 1990--the year the economic slump began. That’s a 5.4% cut in employment, with the construction, manufacturing and retail industries hardest hit. But the hemorrhaging seems to have stopped, with 16,600 new jobs created since January to raise May employment in Orange County to 1,117,900. Economists at Chapman University and Cal State Fullerton say they expect this year to be the first since 1990 to end with an increase in overall employment.

Jobs Are Up This Year

Orange County jobs in millions, all non-agricultural

May 1994: 1,118,000

Slow Recovery

Percent change from previous month

May 1994: 0.4% ***

May, 1993 Jan., 1994 May, 1994 Goods producing Mining 900 800 900 Construction 45,000 41,500 44,500 Manufacturing Food, related products 10,600 10,000 10,600 Textile, apparel 11,800 12,400 13,100 Paper, printing, publishing 21,400 21,100 21,500 Chemical, petroleum products 10,800 10,800 10,800 Rubber, plastic, rubber products 15,200 14,700 15,200 Lumber, wood, furniture 8,900 9,800 10,100 Stone, clay, glass products 2,800 2,600 2,600 Metal products 19,200 19,000 19,300 Industrial machinery 29,400 27,800 27,300 Electronic equipment 25,100 24,400 24,500 Transportation equipment 19,800 18,000 17,900 Instruments, related products 31,200 29,400 29,100 Miscellaneous 3,500 3,700 3,500 All manufacturing 209,700 203,700 205,300 Service producing Transportation, public utilities 37,000 37,200 38,500 Wholesale trade 76,200 73,200 73,800 Retail trade 199,500 198,700 196,600 Finance, insurance, real estate 92,900 90,300 90,300 Business & personal services 331,200 327,200 336,300 State & local government 114,800 112,700 115,800 Federal government 15,700 16,000 15,700 All service-producing industries 867,300 855,300 867,000 Specialty groups High technology* 64,100 59,500 58,400 Tourism** 122,600 120,400 124,200

***

% change from May, ‘93- Jan., ‘94- May, ’94 May, ’94 Goods producing Mining 0% 12.5% Construction -1.1% 7.2% Manufacturing Food, related products 0% 6.0% Textile, apparel 11.0% 5.6% Paper, printing, publishing 0.5% 1.9% Chemical, petroleum products 0% 0% Rubber, plastic, rubber products 0% 3.4% Lumber, wood, furniture 13.5% 3.6% Stone, clay, glass products -7.1% 0% Metal products 0.5% 1.6% Industrial machinery -7.1% -1.8% Electronic equipment -2.4% 0.4% Transportation equipment -9.6% -0.5% Instruments, related products -6.7% -1.0% Miscellaneous 0% -5.4% All manufacturing -2.1% 0.8% Service producing Transportation, public utilities 4.1% 3.5% Wholesale trade -3.2% 0.8% Retail trade -1.5% -1.1% Finance, insurance, real estate -2.8% 0% Business & personal services 1.5% 2.8% State & local government 0.9% 2.8% Federal government 0% -1.9% All service-producing industries 0% 1.4% Specialty groups High technology* -8.9% -1.9% Tourism** 1.3% 3.2%

* Computer, office, electronic, aircraft, space, navigation, control & measurement equipment

** Restaurants, bars, hotels, motels, amusement, recreation, theaters

Source: California Employment Development Department

Researched by JOHN O’DELL / Los Angeles Times