Outlook for Job Growth Going From Good to Better

Forecasts of job growth in Orange County were upbeat at the start of the year. But lately, they’ve been getting even rosier.

Walter Hahn, an economist at E&Y; Kenneth Leventhal Real Estate Group in Newport Beach, expects at least 35,000 new jobs to be created in the county this year. That’s the most in a single year since 1988.

Hahn called the county’s resurgence “an amazing turnaround,” considering that thousands of jobs were lost here in the early 1990s. The biggest growth, he said, is occurring at high-tech companies, which generally provide relatively high-paid jobs.

Hahn warned that highly skilled engineers and service providers are in short supply, and that means employers will be forced to raise salaries to attract more talent.

But that’s good news for the real estate market, he said. Higher salaries mean builders will focus on upscale housing, which will fuel home price appreciation, he said.

Patrice Apodaca covers economic issues for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-5979 and at patrice.apodaca@latimes.com