Tourist Season Drops Jobless Rate to 3.7%

The beginning of what is expected to be a record-setting tourist season in Orange County has already started to push down the unemployment rate, which fell four-tenths of a point to an impressive 3.7% in May from 4.1% in April.

It marks only the second time in the past 12 months that the county’s unemployment rate has dipped below 4%, according to Jerry Shea, research analyst at the state’s Employment Development Department in Los Angeles.

Orange County posted the lowest unemployment rate among all counties in Southern California, and ranked “among the very lowest in the state,” Shea said. Although Marin County, in Northern California, ranked lower at 3.2%, it has a work force of only 124,000 while the EDD tallies Orange County’s at 1.2 million.

Among comparably populated areas, Orange County’s unemployment rate bested Los Angeles County’s 6%, Riverside County’s 6.2%, San Bernardino County’s 5.7% and San Diego County’s 4.6%.

The state posted a 6.7% seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May, while the nation posted a 7.3% seasonally adjusted rate. The county’s rates are not seasonally adjusted.

The number of unemployed workers in Orange County fell to 45,200 in May compared to 49,500 in April, Shea said.

The gains in employment “were across the board,” Shea said. He said the biggest increases throughout the summer are expected in the service sector--amusement parks, hotels and fast-food restaurants.

With a big surge in domestic travel expected this summer, local service sector employers are increasing their hiring, Shea said. The number of service jobs was up 3,700 in May to a total of 36,500, compared to one year ago.

Also affecting the employment statistics was the May opening of two major Orange County hotels--the Four Seasons in Newport Beach and the Compri in Santa Ana.

May employment gains were also reported in the agricultural sector--about 600 additional jobs--and in the education sector, which saw 1,100 new jobs. Schools commonly increase their payrolls in May, when temporary workers are hired to complete the school year’s records and to establish schedules for the following school year, Shea said.