Orange County posted its strongest January jobs increase since 2001, the state Employment Development Department said Friday.
The number of nonfarm jobs jumped 2.1% to 1,458,800, versus a year earlier, with the unemployment rate sinking to 4% from 4.7%.
Professional and business services reported the largest gain, with 11,900 new jobs, up 4.7% compared to the previous January. More than 75% of the gains were in administrative and support services jobs, which includes temp agencies.
Other groups gaining included construction, up by 4,400 jobs, and trade, transportation and utilities, which added 4,900 workers.
Declining sectors included government, down by 400 workers, and the agency’s “information” sector, which includes telecommunications and publishing, which reported a loss of 700 jobs.
The employment department said the January numbers were down from December, which is a normal seasonal decline from holiday hiring. The county lost 23,000 jobs versus December, with the unemployment rate up from 3.6%.
