Orange County Forecasters Are Bullish on 2001

Despite signs of a nationwide slowdown, Orange County’s robust economy should barrel along next year, Chapman University forecasters said Thursday in a surprisingly bullish report. Economists at the Orange campus said Orange County will add about as many jobs next year--around 50,000--as in each of the previous two years. That would translate into a 3.5% annual job growth rate--well ahead of national projections. Family incomes in Orange County will advance strongly, the economists said, and retailers, despite a bit of a slowing, are still looking at a robust annual gain of 6.5%. They said the only area that will feel a notable cooling is construction, as spending on the $1.4-billion Disneyland expansion winds down. But the county will get a lift from higher defense spending and expanding exports. Orange County’s sizzling housing market also will carry over into 2001, with average resale prices expected to rise nearly 8%.