June Jobless Rate in O.C. Drops to 5.5%
Bolstered by gains in manufacturing, construction and services, Orange County’s jobless rate for June dropped slightly from the previous month--5.9% to 5.5%--in the first summertime unemployment decline since 1988.
County economists were heartened by news that the long-suffering manufacturing industry added 2,200 jobs last month.
In the last year, payrolls at local businesses in Orange County have swelled by 4,300 but most of that growth has been in the service sector and has covered up earlier weaknesses in manufacturing and construction.
The June unemployment figure did not include most of the teachers and students who typically swell the corps of job-seekers during the summer. Typically, the June rate jumps nearly half a percentage point from May.
That it didn’t this year could mean that the July jobless rate will rise, said Eleanor Jordan, Orange County analyst for the state Employment Development Department.
Frank Wen, an economist with the Southern California Assn. of Governments, said that with the exception of Los Angeles County there has been slow but steady job growth throughout the Southern California region in recent months.
In fact, the June unemployment rate fell in every county in the state except Los Angeles, where continued defense and aerospace industry layoffs helped push the months’ rate to 7.4% from 6.8% in May.
Economists had been predicting a healthy job growth for Orange County this year. But a weakening national outlook as well as uncertainty over the local economy has undermined those hopes.
“There’s no question that we are forming new jobs, but the pace has really slowed,” said Esmael Adibi, head of the Chapman University Center for Economic Research.
Orange County’s increase in manufacturing jobs was centered in the rubber, plastics and leather industry. They likely were relatively low-paying fabrication jobs, economists said.
The number of better paying high-technology electronics manufacturing jobs has stabilized in recent months, but remains below year-ago levels because of cuts in the computer and office equipment industries.
The service industries--including retail, business services and tourism--grew by more than 4,000 jobs over the 12 months, but that was partially offset by losses in government employment.
Since Orange County’s bankruptcy filing in December, cities and the county have slashed a total of 800 jobs.
The June report “is a lot better than an increase in the unemployment rate, but there’s still a lot of uncertainty about the economy,” Adibi said.
In Orange County, the nearly 1.14 million people on local employers’ payrolls represents the best June job tally since 1991, when there were 1.15 million jobs.
The growth that has been building all year has slowed in recent months, and economists are worried that what was hoped to be the best year for job creation since the 1990-91 recession will fall flat.
Last month, for instance, Chapman University’s economics center had predicted that employers in the county would add about 17,000 jobs to their payrolls this year. But the current growth rate is now only about half their expectation, Adibi said Monday.
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June Jobless Decline
Unemployment in Orange County dropped to 5.5% in June, from 5.9% the previous month. The June figure was the lowest for that month since 1990. The 13-month trend and June comparison:
13-Month Trend June, 1995: 5.5% ****
June Comparison 1990: 3.3% 1991: 5.9% 1992: 7.2% 1993: 7.1% 1994: 5.8% 1995: 5.5% Source: State Employment Development Department
Researched by JOHN O’DELL / Los Angeles Times
