The State of California today released preliminary employment data for September and revised the August numbers. In this exclusive OC180NEWS report, we dig deep into the Employment Development Department numbers for the state and specifically for Orange County.
According to a special analysis of the state’s data, Orange County added more jobs in September 2011 than any other September in the last ten years with the exception of 2002. Countywide employment increased from 1,358,700 in August, to 1,364,400 in September. The increase of 5,700 jobs was second only to 2002, when the county added a whopping 9,500 jobs.
The state does not provide county specific employment on a seasonally adjusted basis, so none of the data used in this report is adjusted for expected seasonal trends. Nevertheless, by reviewing historical data for the last ten years, it becomes clear that Orange County should expect to add jobs in September – the county has done exactly that every year.
In fact, Orange County even managed to add 900 jobs in September 2008, the worse days of the recession. The ten year average job growth in September is 3,800 new jobs. Thus, the 2011 September job increase of 5,700 is far above the average.
The increase last month in Orange County employment outpaced even 2006 when county employment hit its peak. In that year, the August to September job growth in Orange County was 5,100, about 10% less than this September’s job growth. By December 2006, Orange County employment had risen to the record of 1,539,800
After hitting the employment record in December 2006, county employment began to fall. It did not hit bottom until January 2010 when Orange County jobs totaled only 1,333,000, a loss of 206,800jobs, or 13%. The job growth of 5,700 in September was more than enough to offset the July to August job losses, but still leaves county employment behind the post-recession high of 1,368,800 jobs which came in June 2011.
The job growth in September means that cumulatively the county has gained back 31,400 of the 206,800 total recession jobs lost. Thus, the 13% jobs lost, as of September, now stands at 11%.
Orange County’s job recovery is behind the state total, and also behind job rebuilding in both Los Angeles and San Diego Counties. In total, California lost 1,653,600, or 11%, of the state’s jobs during the depths of the recession. By September it had recovered back to net losses of 8%.
Just like the state total, Los Angeles County also lost 11% of its jobs during the recession. But, through September, Los Angeles had recovered only back to a 10% net job loss. Weak as that performance might be, it beats Orange County’s net jobs lost of 11%.
San Diego did not have a very strong jobs month in September, but their strength earlier in the year continues to keep their net job losses far below the state average, Los Angeles, and Orange County. After an upward revision to the August jobs number and a preliminary September count, San Diego has a net recession job loss of 86,300, or 7%. At the lowest post recession jobs level, San Diego’s employment was down 9%.
All of the data in this article is from reports provided by the California Employment Development Department. The text and analysis are by OC180NEWS.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading …
About Dolores Barr, Publisher
Dolores Barr has lived in Rossmoor since 1992 and has created this site to provide local news for the people of Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Rossmoor, Leisure World, Sunset Beach, and Surfside, California. My husband and I have had two students graduate from the Los Alamitos Unified School District and currently our Grandson, Ricky Apodaca, grade 3 at Weaver Elementary, is actively involved in youth baseball through LAYB and youth football through FNL.
In 
