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Saturday, Apr 25, 2026

Unemployment, Jobs Down

OC’s unadjusted unemployment rate was 3.3% in April, down from a revised 3.7% in March and below the 4% reported in the same period last year, despite a net loss in jobs during that period, the state Employment Development Department said.

OC lost 3,100 nonfarm jobs from March and now has 1,585,600 employees.

Statewide, California unadjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.8% in April from 4.9% in March. The rate was 4.9% in April 2016. California had 16.7 million workers in April, down 16,300 from March.

The biggest OC job gain was in leisure and hospitality, which reported an additional 2,600 jobs.

The largest job decline locally was in trade, transportation and utilities, which lost 2,700 jobs.

Statewide, 388,142 people received unemployment benefits in April, down from 420,505 in March and 395,005 in April last year.

The U.S. earlier this month reported 4.4% unemployment in April.

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Peter J. Brennan
Peter J. Brennan
With four decades of experience in journalism, Peter J. Brennan has built a career that spans diverse news topics and global coverage. From reporting on wars, narcotics trafficking, and natural disasters to analyzing business and financial markets, Peter’s work reflects a commitment to impactful storytelling. Peter’s association with the Orange County Business Journal began in 1997, where he worked until 2000 before moving to Bloomberg News. During his 15 years at Bloomberg, his reporting often influenced financial markets, with headlines and articles moving the market caps of major companies by hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2017, Peter returned to the Orange County Business Journal as Financial Editor, bringing his heavy business industry expertise. Over the years, he advanced to Executive Editor and, in 2024, was named Editor-in-Chief. Peter’s work has been featured in prestigious publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, and he has appeared on CNN, CBC, BBC, and Bloomberg TV. A Kiplinger Fellowship recipient at The Ohio State University, he leads the Business Journal with a dedication to uncovering stories that matter and shaping the local business community and beyond.

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