Report: County jobless rate low

Andrew Edwards

Orange County closed out 2004 with the lowest unemployment rate among

the nation’s major metropolitan areas, the Bureau of Labor Statistics

reported Wednesday.

“That’s not unusual -- we kind of take it for granted,” Costa Mesa

Chamber of Commerce President Ed Fawcett said.

The county finished the year with a 2.7% unemployment rate, an

improvement over December 2003’s jobless rate of 3.2%.

Costa Mesa and Newport Beach mirrored the countywide decline in

unemployment, and December figures from both cities were better than

the county rate, according to the state Economic Development

Department.

Costa Mesa finished the year with 2.3% of the labor force out of

work, and Newport Beach posted a 1.7% unemployment rate.

Costa Mesa’s low unemployment rate can be attributed to the

variety of business in the city, Fawcett said.

Though a retail center like South Coast Plaza represents an

obvious source of jobs, the city’s economy does not rely on any

single employer or business sector.

“We’ve got a diverse workforce, so we’re not subject to any wind

of the economy,” Fawcett said.

“You’ve got manufacturing, retail, service. You want it, you got

it, except we don’t have a lot of agriculture anymore.”

Fawcett contrasted Costa Mesa with technology-driven Santa Clara

County, which tumbled into a recession after the dot-com bubble burst

around 2001.

“When that tanked, it devastated them,” he said. “Did it happen

here? No.”

Across the county as a whole, a wide spectrum of industries helps

to keep people working, Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce President

Richard Luehrs said.

But Newport Beach’s low unemployment stems less from the city’s

business profile than the high employability of Newport Beach

residents, who must first clear the hurdle of being able to afford a

residence in the city.

“You’re likely to have a good education or a job skill that’s in

high demand, and you’re working,” Fawcett said.

Though Newport’s high cost of living tends to attract skilled

residents, Luehrs called the phenomenon a “double-edged sword,”

because steep home prices can make it difficult for employers to

recruit people for mid-range jobs.

“On a $50,000 income, it would be difficult to live here,” Luehrs

said.