• OC Ranks 3rd Nationally In Population Density
• OC ranks 10th among U.S. Cybercities in High Tech Employment.
• Ranks 32nd among nations in the World: 1999GNP
• 38.17 million people visited OC in 1999
• OC ranks 4th nationally in Median Household Income
• OC Ranks 4th nationally in % of Households with Income of 50,000+
• OC Ranks 2nd Nationally in Retail Sales per Household
• 60% of OC Residents Own 2+ Vehicles

Labor Force
Orange County’s labor force numbered more than 1.6 million in 2005, a gain of 1.3 percent from the previous year.2 The county’s 2005 unemployment rate declined to 3.8 percent, considerably lower than the state’s rate of 5.4 percent for the same year. As shown on the right, since 2001, Orange County has recorded an unemployment rate consistently lower than the rate for California.

Industry Employment
Orange County’s industries have gained 75,400 jobs since 2001, cumulative growth of more than 5 percent. As shown to the right, financial activities; educational and health services; and natural resources, mining, and construction led job growth, gaining 69,700 jobs. Within financial activities, the finance and insurance sector gained 27,200 jobs, while within educational and health services, almost 81 percent of the growth (15,100 jobs), was in the health care and social assistance component. Over the profiled years, jobs in construction were up by 18,600, or 23 percent; professional and business services also gained 18,600 jobs over these years. Industries recording job loss were: manufacturing; information; and agriculture. The greatest job loss (-25,800 jobs), occurred in manufacturing, specifically the durable goods manufacturing component (-19,800 jobs).