County’s Jobless Rate Drops to 2.9% Because of Seasonal Hiring
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Orange County’s unemployment rate for October fell to 2.9% from September’s 3.2% due to a seasonal hiring surge, the state Employment Development Department reported Thursday.
The official number of jobless residents dropped to 40,500 from 44,400 as teachers and other school employees returned to work, said Eleanor Jordan, Orange County labor market analyst for the EDD.
Retailing was the only other industry segment with a sizable job increase, up 1,000 for a total of 215,200 jobs, Jordan said. Tourism declined by 1,110 because of seasonal layoffs.
The county’s 2.9% unemployment rate remained the third lowest in the state--a position it has held for nearly a year--bested only by Marin County, with a 2.2% rate, and San Mateo County, at 2.3%.
Nationally, the October jobless rate was 5.3%, unchanged from September, while the statewide rate of 4.6% was down from 5% in September.
Among other Southern California counties, San Diego posted a 3.8% rate; Los Angeles, 4.2%, and San Bernardino, 4.7%.
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