Orange County’s job losses continued at an accelerated pace in February as employers here cut 72,300 workers versus a year earlier, surpassing January’s stunning 64,600 layoffs.
The county’s unemployment rate rose to 7.8% last month, up from a revised 7.6% for January and 4.3% a year earlier, according to the state’s Employment Development Department.
The unemployment rate and level of layoffs is on par with the worst of the early 1990s recessions.
Jobs here were down 4.8% in February from a year earlier to 1.43 million nonfarm workers. Employment was off 0.1% from January.
For the 12 months through February, trade, transportation and utilities jobs saw the biggest decline at 19,000 workers lost.
Sixty percent of the decline was related to the struggling retail industry.
Construction continued its ongoing decline with 16,700 jobs lost for the 12 months through February.
As has been the trend for months now, educational and health services were among the few areas to gain for the 12 months through February, adding 1,200 jobs.
On a monthly basis, construction and the trade, transportation and utilities group led job losses from January to February.
Healthcare, education and government jobs gained on a monthly basis.
The county has been losing jobs year-over-year since the third quarter of 2007.
