O.C. yearlong job loss second highest in U.S.

November 5th, 2008, 6:00 am · 12 Comments · posted by Jan Norman, small-business columnist

Orange County’s job loss in the past year was second highest among U.S. metropolitan divisions, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and California Employment Development Department.

And two private jobs reports for October released today paint a continuing gloomy picture.

The BLS report, not seasonally adjusted, says the county lost 29,600 jobs September to September. Only Detroit lost more, shedding 33,800 jobs. Los Angeles County was fourth, losing 23,600 jobs.

The county’s unemployment rate in September was 5.7%, compared to 4.2% in September 2007.

California’s September rate was 7.7% and the U.S. rate was 6.1%

O.C.’s September rate is actually lower than it was in August when the county’s unemployment was 5.9% (that rate has been adjusted upward from 5.8% EDD reported in September). Click here to read that earlier story.

Two out of three private jobs reports for October indicate a deteriorating jobs picture.

Automatic Data Processing Inc., the world’s largest payroll and benefits administrator, reports that U.S. private employers cut 157,000 jobs in October. This report is drawn from actual payroll activity of ADP’s 500,000 U.S. customers that have 22 million workers.

In recent months, small businesses have continued to add more jobs than mid-sized and large companies shed. But in October, all three sectors trimmed payrolls:

Businesses with fewer than 50 employees: - 25,000
Businesses with 50 to 499 employees: - 91,000
Businesses with 500+ employees: - 41,000

Click here to read ADP’s Small Business report.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., a Chicago-based outplacement company, reports today that announced job cuts at U.S. companies hit a five-year high in October. The 112,884 layoffs were 19% higher than in September and 79% higher than a year earlier.

“It is also an ominous sign that job cuts reached a five-year high in October. Year-end job cuts are typically higher at other times of the year, but the fact that October was significantly higher than recent years suggests that companies not only have been hit hard by this downturn, but they do not see a rebound anytime in the near future,” said John Challenger.

The top reasons companies gave Challenger for the October job cuts:

Market conditions
Restructuring
Demand downturn
Closing the business
Cost-cutting
Fluctuating sales
Merger/acquisition
Reorganization/consolidation
Order cancellation/reduction
Competition

The one positive report that may be a ray of hope or an outlier that doesn’t reflect reality comes from SurePayroll, the largest online payroll service used by thousands of smaller companies. In October, California small businesses added employees and the average paycheck for 2008 to date, SurePayroll data shows.

Small businesses account for about half of our jobs. Here’s SurePayroll’s finding of job creation in key states:

However, the BLS September news was particularly glum for Riverside-San Bernardino, which had the highest unemployment rate — 9.1% — among the 49 metro areas with at least 1 million population.

Southern California isn’t alone in job losses over the past year. The BLS said unemployment rates rose in 349 of the nation’s 369 metro areas.

Click here to read the full BLS report. Click here for EDD’s press release.

More economic news….

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Dina says:

November 5, 2008 at 7:15 am

What is the job losses of illegal employess? Anyone tracking those numbers?

Coco says:

November 5, 2008 at 8:02 am

Does anybody see how truly awful these numbers are? And on the subject of jobs and the current economy, we haven’t even begun to see the worst yet. Have people really looked at their jobs and asked themselves if they will be able to keep them? And if they are in doubt, are they preparing for the possibility of losing their jobs? That means, saving, cutting back, not buying things they don’t need, etc. Who are these people who feel so secure that they can continue to buy half a million dollar houses in OC?

Octimes says:

November 5, 2008 at 8:51 am

Half the people that aren’t working don’t want to work. They found an easier way to make money. It’s called unemployment.

my two cents says:

November 5, 2008 at 9:08 am

I got laid off in late June 2007 and started looking for a job right away to replace the job with another one just like it with similar pay. I went from applying to jobs offering no less than 35K to no less than 30K to no less than $15/hour to anything above $10/hour to pretty much anything. I found a retail job in October and worked until December (only worked 2 days per week) when they didn’t need me anymore. I ended up finding two part-time jobs paying $11/hour in June 2008 right before my benefits were about to run out. That was such a stressful and uncertain time. It still kills me everyday to be earning less than half of what I used to be making in unskilled jobs. I used to be a professional and I did earn a college degree 7 years ago at the age of 21. I’m still out there doing my best fo find another job and am working on a second A.S. degree in another field to improve my chances.

Gnarlydude says:

November 5, 2008 at 9:45 am

Where does the person named OCTimes get off making flippant uninformed comments like that? Is it the “voice of experience”. Why would any one choose the negative cash flow experience of unemployment benefits over a steady job with health benefits? The company I worked for is exporting all of the jobs to Mexico within the next 9 months and many more will be pounding the pavement. We wouldn’t have to seek unemployment benefits if businesses would stop sending jobs out of this country. Pretty soon Americans won’t be able to afford all the goods being made in other countries and we’ll all be selling each other insurance and hamburgers. What a great GDP that will be.

November 5, 2008 at 10:38 am

There are jobs out there. The problem is low undercut wages. Try health care. There are tech positions that pay very well. A person who just draws blood can get $18/hr. It only takes 4 months training. Check your local JC.

November 5, 2008 at 10:58 am

To My Two Cents- Have you considered a career in the Armed Forces? With a Bachelors Degree, you could enter as a commisioned officer. Not everyone in the military goes to the battlefield. The Air Force needs leaders who can oversee work in maintenance, logisitics, transportation, along with operations. Pay is good, benefits like healthcare are generous, and you can see the world. And you are serving your country which is personally fulfilling.

toxicnut says:

November 5, 2008 at 4:25 pm

Coco not everyone is young enought to enlist in the military. There is a second monster looming out there, loss of jobs in the auto industry as dealers close up putting people ot of work other that salesmen and the related jobs they support. Pretty soon OC will start looking like Cleveland, Pittsburg, Scranton and all of those other towns in the rust belt looked in the 70’s and early 80’s. When all of us end up working for less than $15.00/hr it will be pretty hard for people to justify the prices they are asking for their homes. Not a pretty picture at all.

skippyg says:

November 5, 2008 at 6:34 pm

This is horrible, the housing mess fallout will be felt for a long time.

Leonard says:

November 8, 2008 at 6:25 am

For those that need jobs, there are still thousands of high paying jobs on popular employment sites like -

http://www.linkedin.com (networking)
http://www.indeed.com (aggregated listings)
http://www.realmatch.com (matches jobs based on your skills)

Good look to those looking for work!

tough time says:

November 13, 2008 at 9:26 am

I been buying time for a long time , i’ve been in the retail bussiness for 20 years it takes a min. of 85k year to raise a family of 4 in OC 15 hr

wont cut it , sales are at zero , not because we are scared , but were broke

Daily tip: Personalized postage stamps - Jan Norman on Small Business - OCRegister.com says:

November 18, 2008 at 1:02 am

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