O.C. Unemployment Hovers Around 7.5 Percent

In May, 5,900 Orange County residents found a job. That wasn't enough to move the needle on the county's unemployment rate, however.

An estimated 7.5 percent of Orange County adults able to work were unemployed last month, according to numbers released Friday by the state's Employment Development Department.

That's an upward tick from a revised 7.4 percent in April, but a full point below the year-ago estimate of 8.5 percent.  

Between April and May, the leisure and hospitality sector in the county posted the largest increase in jobs, with 3,400 coming online as employers ramped up staffing for the summer tourist season. 

Accommodation and food services accounted for 59 percent of the growth, while arts, entertainment and recreation contributed to 41 percent of the rise.

Construction added 1,700 jobs with employment gains showing in all the major sectors. More than 70 percent of the growth was concentrated in construction of buildings. 

Professional and business services expanded by 1,100 jobs overall, led by advances in administrative and support services, which includes temporary help firms.

Education and health services posted the largest employment decline with the loss of 800 jobs, due in part to seasonal declines in education during the summer recess. 

Cutbacks in ambulatory health care services accounted for 63 percent of the overall decline. 

Comparatively, the state in May recorded an unadjusted unemployment rate of 10.4 percent; the nation, 7.9 percent.