County Manufacturing by the Numbers

Now you know:

There are 10,300 small manufacturing businesses in Orange County, according to a report by the California Manufacturing Technology Center. The dominant industries are aerospace and defense, electronics, computer equipment and biomedical products and equipment.

State employment data for March show that manufacturers provide 241,300 jobs in the county, up 3.3% from 233,700 in March 1998. That means that 18.2% of the county’s wage and salary earners--almost one of every five--go to work each day at a business that makes something.

John O’Dell covers major Orange County corporations and manufacturing for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5831 and at john.odell@latimes.com.