ORANGE COUNTY IN BANKRUPTCY : Jobless Rate Continues to Fall in Orange County : Employment: November's 4.8% is the lowest since 1991. Fiscal crisis has not yet had impact.

By JOHN O’DELL

Dec. 17, 1994 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Orange County’s unemployment rate for November fell to 4.8%, the lowest level for the key economic indicator since December, 1991, and substantially below the statewide average of 7.5% last month.

And despite the staggering investment losses disclosed by Orange County officials earlier this month, the jobs picture is not likely to change significantly in coming months, economists said.

“There will be some layoffs . . . but we expect the main impact on government will be to stop new hiring,” said Esmael Adibi, director of the Center for Economic Research at Chapman University in Orange. “Nothing much should show up until early next year” in unemployment statistics, he said.

Adibi predicted Orange County’s unemployment rate will decline for this month, too, as merchants make last-minute holiday hires.

Much of the employment improvement since October, when the county’s jobless rate was 5.1%, came from retailers hiring help for the holiday shopping season.

But a separate tally of employment at businesses in Orange County showed a substantial number of permanent jobs added to local payrolls since November, 1993, when the jobless rate hit a nine-year high of 7%.

Orange County’s jobless rate last month was the second lowest in the state, trailing only the 4.1% figure reported for Marin and San Mateo counties in Northern California.