County’s Jobless Rate Dips to 2.9%, 2nd Lowest for ’89

Orange County’s unemployment rate dropped to 2.9% in August, down from 3.6% in July and the lowest 1989 figure since the 2.5% reported for March, the state Employment Development Department reported Thursday.

The county’s rate remained the third-lowest in the state, trailing only Marin County’s 2.4% unemployment rate and the 2.5% rate posted for San Mateo County, both well-to-do suburban areas in Northern California.

Statewide, the August jobless rate was 4.7% while Riverside County posted a 7.8% rate, San Diego County’s was 3.9% and Los Angeles County’s was 4.4%.

Economists generally consider unemployment rates of 5% or less representative of virtual full employment. A true zero rate can almost never be achieved in an area with a large population because a certain number of people are always between jobs.

The sharp decline between the July and August unemployment rates in Orange County was caused by statistical fluctuations rather than any major increase in the number of jobs, said Eleanor Jordon, Orange County labor market analyst for the EDD. State analysts decreased the size of the county’s civilian labor pool to account for students and teachers who began leaving the labor market in preparation for the resumption of school in September, she said.

The civilian labor pool is an estimate of the total number of adults in the county considered able and willing to work. The August labor pool of 1,395,500 was down 11,500 from the 1,407,000 reported in July--the height of the summer job season.

Orange County’s 2.9% jobless rate for August represented total unemployment of 39,900, down from 50,000 in August--again because of the large number of people leaving the labor pool.

Over the past year, manufacturing employment in the county has declined by about 2,000 jobs, while employment in government, retail trade and business and personal services jobs has increased substantially.

Aerospace employment, counted as part of the manufacturing sector, decreased by 500 jobs from July to August.