The county’s March employment results continued a string of positive numbers, according to a Friday report from the state Employment Development Department.
Orange County’s unemployment rate was 3.8% in March, down from 4.8% a year earlier. The county added 25,900 new workers in the period for a total nonfarm payroll of 1,472,500.
OC has posted solid employment gains through the first quarter. The state’s unemployment rate was 5.7% in March, with the nation’s at 5.4%.
Professional and business services reported the largest gain with 11,000 new jobs. Trade, transportation and utilities employment rose by 3,900 jobs with nearly all of that sector’s gains coming from retailers.
Builders reported an increase of 3,500 jobs. The information sector was the only decliner in March with a loss of 800 jobs, compared to a year earlier. Telecommunications resellers were the biggest job decliners in the information sector.
