O.C. Unemployment Rate Up, but So Is the Number of Jobs

Orange County’s jobless rate jumped to 5.3% last month, but a robust gain of 2,000 jobs last month from March blunted the unemployment figure and reassured economists that the county’s fiscal woes haven’t stalled its growth.

The unemployment rate, which measures the number of county residents without jobs, rose from 4.7% in March because there was a smaller labor pool and more people reported that they were out of work.

But analysts consider the separately surveyed payroll figures a more accurate measure of the economy, especially when compared on a year-to-year basis.

“Things are definitely improving,” said Eleanor Jordan, an analyst at the state’s Employment Development Department office in Santa Ana. Non-farm employment in Orange County increased by 6,100 in April from a year earlier, which she called “an encouraging sign.”

Despite the rather big month-to-month increase in the jobless rate, Orange County’s unemployment figure remained one of the lowest in the state.

Most other counties also saw unemployment rates rise in April. The notable exception was Los Angeles County, where the rate dropped to 6.8% from 8% the previous month. Analysts dismissed that drop as a statistical glitch.

California’s unemployment rate, previously reported, rose in April to 7.9% from 7.6%. And the nation’s jobless rate grew to 5.8% last month from 5.5% in March. Unlike the county data, both of these figures are adjusted for seasonal trends.

The county’s monthly jobless rate can fluctuate widely because it is based on a survey of households and includes estimates of self-employed, non-paid household workers and other non-payroll jobs. The payroll figures are derived by sampling the county’s larger employers.

The county’s strongest economic area continues to be the services sector, which last month gained 3,100 jobs from March, mostly because of seasonal factors. The amusement industry, for example, added 700 jobs last month and hotels boosted payrolls by 200.

Total government employment also grew by 400 last month from March, though the county itself scaled back 100 jobs as a continuing result of its December bankruptcy filing. Last month, county government jobs totaled 16,800--down 1,000 from April, 1994.

County manufacturers shed 300 jobs last month, and the finance, insurance and real estate industry cut their payrolls by 700 jobs.

Still, Anil Puri, an economist at Cal State Fullerton, said the latest jobs report confirms that the county’s financial woes are not likely to hurt the labor market, though they have slowed down housing sales.

“The trend has been consistently upward for a number of months,” Puri said of the county’s job growth. “I don’t expect any long-term adverse consequences from the bankruptcy.”