Orange County continues to bleed jobs in August, state officials reported on Friday. Over the past 12 months, the county has lost 26,600 jobs, said the state Employment Development Department. Two years ago, the county added that many jobs in a year.
Local unemployment in August edged up to 5.8 percent from 5.7 percent, the highest jobless rate since August 2004. Local unemployment was just 4.2 percent a year ago.
Economist Asmael Adibi at Chapman University said there was one slight ray of hope: The county not losing jobs as fast as it was last month. In July, jobs were disappearing at a 2.2 percent annual pace. That slowed to 1.8 percent in August.
But don't expect a quick job turnaround, Adibi said, noting that employers are usually slow to create jobs after this kind of downturn and if anything these negative numbers will stay around for a while. Orange County's August job losses were broad-based, with financial activities continuing to take the biggest hit, down 11,700 jobs in the past year.
The only bright spots were the government, which added 4,100 jobs over the past 12 months, and educational and health services, increasing by 3,200. Because Orange County has such a diverse economy, some niches are still thriving.
Unemployment by County
Orange : 5.8 %
San Diego: 6.4 %
Ventura: 7.1 %
Los Angeles: 8.2 %
Riverside: 9.2 %
Santa Barbara: 5.5 %
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