BUSINESS WATCH:

Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce President Ed Fawcett has a message for local industrialists: Your city needs you now.

Two weeks ago, the Orange County Business Council published its annual “Orange County Workforce: State of the County” report, which predicts trends in county employment from 2004 through 2014. The researchers determined that over that 10-year span, Orange County will see its largest job growth in retail, with the number of salespeople, cashiers, waiters and waitresses rising steadily.

For cities based around residence and retail, an increase like that won’t make much of a difference. For Costa Mesa, though, which has a strong industrial area on the Westside, a heavy retail rise could cause problems, according to Fawcett.

“Costa Mesa has always had a good balance,” he said. “If we force out those good industry jobs in favor of living and retail outlets, you throw the community out of balance.”

The report issued by the Business Council predicted that out of the 287,400 new jobs projected for Orange County by 2014, 30,350 would be for retail salespeople, with slightly less than 20,000 each for cashiers, waiters and waitresses. Fawcett said if low-paying jobs came to dominate higher-paying industrial ones in Costa Mesa, the city would likely lose much of its low-income population as workers were priced out and had to commute in from neighboring cities.

As a result, he said, the aerospace companies, boat builders and surf manufacturers on the Westside were more vital than ever to the city’s future. Steve Jones, the president of the recently formed Westside Business Culture, seconded his views. Jones said the city’s character would likely change over the next decade.

“You’re going to see Costa Mesa really shift things in the next five, 10 years,” he said. “Just given the value of real estate, all those kind of light industrial jobs are either going to push inland or go down to the border.”

Richard Luehrs, president of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, said he didn’t think the scenarios predicted in the report would affect his city as much, due to its limited industrial sector.

On the whole, he noted, he found the report encouraging.

“It’s job creation, and that’s a good thing,” Luehrs said.

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.