Orange County vs. California
Comparative Trends Analysis:
Total Employment Growth and Change, 1969-2022
Introduction
Orange County vs. California
Orange County:
2022 Jobs = 2,386,649
2022 Percent of State = 9.43%
California:
2022 Jobs = 25,300,974
2022 Percent of U.S. = 11.91%
Employment numbers remain the most popular and frequently cited statistics used for tracking local area economic conditions and trends. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) employment estimates reported measure the number of full- and part-time wage and salary employees, plus the number of proprietors of unincorporated businesses. People holding more than one job are counted in the employment estimates for each job they hold. This means BEA employment estimates represent a job count, not a people count. Also, BEA employment is by place-of-work, rather than by place-of-residence. Jobs held by neighboring county residents who commute to Orange County to work are included in the employment count for Orange County.
Data Definition:
The BEA employment series for states and local areas comprises estimates of the number of jobs, full-time plus part-time, by place of work. Full-time and part-time jobs are counted at equal weight. Employees, sole proprietors, and active partners are included, but unpaid family workers and volunteers are not included. Proprietors employment consists of the number of sole proprietorships and the number of partners in partnerships. The description "by place of work" applies to the wage and salary portion of the series and, with relatively little error, to the entire series. The proprietors employment portion of the series, however, is more nearly by place of residence because, for nonfarm sole proprietorships, the estimates are based on IRS tax data that reflect the address from which the proprietor's individual tax return is filed, which is usually the proprietor's residence. The nonfarm partnership portion of the proprietors employment series reflects the tax-filing address of the partnership, which may be either the residence of one of the partners or the business address of the partnership. The employment estimates are designed to be consistent with the estimates of wages and salaries and proprietors' income that are part of the personal income series. The employment estimates are based on the same sets of source data as the corresponding earnings estimates and are prepared with parallel methodologies. Two forms of proprietors' income-the income of limited partnerships and the income of tax-exempt cooperatives-have no corresponding employment estimates.
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 1.
Figure 1 traces Orange County's annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Orange County's total employment rose from 527,064 in 1969 to 2,386,649 in 2022, for a net gain of 1,859,585, or 352.82%.
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 2.
Figure 2 tracks California's annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, California's total employment rose from 9,032,738 in 1969 to 25,300,974 in 2022, for a net gain of 16,268,236, or 180.10%.
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Figure 3.
Figure 3 portrays Orange County's total employment growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with California, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's total employment in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the total employments in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in total employment growth between regions that may differ vastly in size.
Orange County's overall total employment growth was 352.82% over 1969-2022 outpaced California's increase of 180.10%, and topped the United States' increase of 133.32%.
Total Employment as a Percent of the California Total: 1969-2022
Total Employment as a Percent of the California Total: 1969-2022
Figure 4.
Another interesting and insightful way of comparing the total employment growth of Orange County is to compare its individual percentage contributions to California's statewide total employment over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's total employment grew faster, or declined less, than California's total employment, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.
In 1969, Orange County's total employment totaled 5.84% of California's total employment, while in 2022 it totaled 9.43% thereby yielding a +3.60% share-shift.
   
 
Total Employment Share-Shift
2022 vs. 1969
 
Share-
Shift*
 
2022
vs.
1969
+3.60%
=
9.43%
-
5.84%
 
   
Orange County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Orange County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Figure 5.
Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of Orange County's total employment growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 53-year period is also traced on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average.
On average, Orange County's total employment grew at an annual rate of 2.94% over 1970-2022. The county posted its highest growth in 1973 (10.68%) and recorded its lowest growth in 2020 (-5.58%). In 2022, Orange County's total employment grew by 5.67%
Orange County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Orange County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Figure 6.
Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again illustrates the annual percent change in Orange County's total employment since 1970, but this time they are displayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022.
During the 1970s, Orange County's annual total employment growth rate averaged 6.93%. It averaged 4.04% throughout the 1980s, 1.61% during the 1990s, 0.68% during the 2000s, 1.97% during the 2010s, 1.26% thus far this decade (2020-2022).
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Figure 7.
Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Orange County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for California and the nation. As the chart reveals, Orange County's average annual total employment growth exceeded California's average in the 1970s (6.93% vs. 3.29%), exceeded California's average during the 1980s (4.04% vs. 2.81%), topped California's average throughout the 1990s (1.61% vs. 1.40%), registered above California's average throughout the 2000s (0.68% vs. 0.53%), lagged California's average throughout the 2010s (1.97% vs. 2.03%), and fell below California's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (1.26% vs. 1.55%).
Finally, relative to nationwide total employment growth trends, Orange County outgained the nation in the 1970s (6.93% vs. 2.21%), registered above the nation throughout the 1980s (4.04% vs. 1.88%), trailed the nation in the 1990s (1.61% vs. 1.73%), trailed the nation throughout the 2000s (0.68% vs. 0.74%), led the nation during the 2010s (1.97% vs. 1.51%), and trailed the nation over 2020-2022 (1.26% vs. 1.82%).
   
 
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change
 
 
 
2.94
6.93
4.04
1.61
0.68
1.97
1.26
5.67
 
1.99
3.29
2.81
1.40
0.53
2.03
1.55
5.71
 
1.62
2.21
1.88
1.73
0.74
1.51
1.82
4.78
 
   
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Figure 8.
The job ratios shown in Figure 8 for Orange County, California and the nation not only portray a number of important trends, they also serves as a thumbnail guide to evaluating an economy's capacity to generate enough jobs fast enough to absorb the increasing number of workers attendant to a growing population. The job ratio is the number of full-time and part-time jobs by place of work, divided by population.
Nationally, the job ratio rose from 0.45 to 0.64 between 1969 and 2022. Orange County's job ratio registered 0.38 in 1969, and 0.76 in 2022. Underlying the rising job ratio over the past several decades have been the increases in the labor force participation rates, with the number and proportion of women in the labor market playing a leading role.
An assortment of other factors can contribute to regional differences in the job ratio. They include differences in the proportion of elderly and retirees who no longer work and participate in the labor force, differences in the number and proportion of part-time vs. full-time workers, differences in industry composition, and differences in age and sex distribution and degree of urbanization. Also, a disproportionate number of workers commuting to work outside a county tends to lower its local county job ratio, while a net inflow of workers commuting to work inside the county tends to augment its local county job ratio.
Avoid interpreting the job ratio as the fraction (or percent) of the local population employed. This interpretation should only apply to the "employment-population ratio" statistic compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from the Current Population Survey (CPS).
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Figure 9.
To highlight trends in a local job ratio relative to nationwide trends, Figure 9 tracks Orange County's, California's job ratio as a percent of the national job ratio over 1969-2022.

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
Orange County:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
527,064
100.0
N
5.84
0.38
84.63
1970
 
547,179
103.8
3.82
6.04
0.38
85.28
1971
 
558,580
106.0
2.08
6.18
0.38
84.99
1972
 
606,262
115.0
8.54
6.47
0.39
87.54
1973
 
671,020
127.3
10.68
6.82
0.42
89.65
1974
 
712,257
135.1
6.15
7.01
0.43
90.94
1975
 
736,955
139.8
3.47
7.16
0.43
93.03
1976
 
791,517
150.2
7.40
7.44
0.45
95.62
1977
 
866,470
164.4
9.47
7.79
0.48
100.03
1978
 
952,774
180.8
9.96
8.06
0.51
104.11
1979
 
1,026,126
194.7
7.70
8.23
0.54
107.64
1980
 
1,064,847
202.0
3.77
8.34
0.55
108.97
1981
 
1,111,593
210.9
4.39
8.59
0.55
110.72
1982
 
1,106,378
209.9
-0.47
8.60
0.54
109.74
1983
 
1,137,634
215.8
2.83
8.63
0.54
110.10
1984
 
1,218,904
231.3
7.14
8.83
0.57
112.32
1985
 
1,276,160
242.1
4.70
8.93
0.59
112.92
1986
 
1,332,866
252.9
4.44
9.06
0.60
113.76
1987
 
1,399,682
265.6
5.01
9.15
0.61
114.74
1988
 
1,485,480
281.8
6.13
9.27
0.64
116.55
1989
 
1,521,460
288.7
2.42
9.26
0.64
115.68
1990
 
1,566,658
297.2
2.97
9.31
0.65
116.87
1991
 
1,547,026
293.5
-1.25
9.24
0.63
115.95
1992
 
1,513,225
287.1
-2.18
9.23
0.61
112.51
1993
 
1,501,833
284.9
-0.75
9.18
0.59
109.49
1994
 
1,518,246
288.1
1.09
9.18
0.59
107.94
1995
 
1,561,864
296.3
2.87
9.22
0.60
107.99
1996
 
1,592,920
302.2
1.99
9.19
0.60
107.44
1997
 
1,642,481
311.6
3.11
9.30
0.61
106.96
1998
 
1,736,710
329.5
5.74
9.42
0.63
109.01
1999
 
1,780,075
337.7
2.50
9.44
0.63
109.20
2000
 
1,827,742
346.8
2.68
9.51
0.64
109.25
2001
 
1,841,585
349.4
0.76
9.52
0.64
109.88
2002
 
1,846,232
350.3
0.25
9.54
0.63
110.60
2003
 
1,885,909
357.8
2.15
9.68
0.64
112.56
2004
 
1,930,595
366.3
2.37
9.76
0.66
113.81
2005
 
1,980,806
375.8
2.60
9.84
0.67
115.53
2006
 
2,017,128
382.7
1.83
9.84
0.69
116.71
2007
 
2,033,376
385.8
0.81
9.73
0.69
116.37
2008
 
1,998,601
379.2
-1.71
9.68
0.68
114.66
2009
 
1,899,268
360.3
-4.97
9.57
0.64
112.33
2010
 
1,882,771
357.2
-0.87
9.59
0.62
111.67
2011
 
1,919,042
364.1
1.93
9.60
0.63
111.35
2012
 
1,970,635
373.9
2.69
9.54
0.64
112.29
2013
 
2,027,172
384.6
2.87
9.51
0.65
113.22
2014
 
2,088,135
396.2
3.01
9.49
0.67
114.25
2015
 
2,159,495
409.7
3.42
9.52
0.68
115.66
2016
 
2,205,488
418.4
2.13
9.52
0.69
116.52
2017
 
2,242,954
425.6
1.70
9.52
0.70
117.09
2018
 
2,299,599
436.3
2.53
9.55
0.72
118.29
2019
 
2,307,080
437.7
0.33
9.52
0.72
118.61
2020
 
2,178,370
413.3
-5.58
9.41
0.68
116.09
2021
 
2,258,577
428.5
3.68
9.44
0.71
117.01
2022
 
2,386,649
452.8
5.67
9.43
0.76
118.82
Source: Calculations by the California Regional Economic Analysis Project (CA-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PSN
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
California:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
9,032,738
100.0
N
9.92
0.46
101.31
1970
 
9,056,897
100.3
0.27
9.92
0.45
100.99
1971
 
9,036,074
100.0
-0.23
9.87
0.44
100.30
1972
 
9,368,468
103.7
3.68
9.93
0.46
100.99
1973
 
9,843,939
109.0
5.08
10.00
0.47
101.29
1974
 
10,163,089
112.5
3.24
10.15
0.48
102.29
1975
 
10,286,346
113.9
1.21
10.40
0.48
104.05
1976
 
10,632,968
117.7
3.37
10.47
0.48
103.81
1977
 
11,119,255
123.1
4.57
10.59
0.50
104.08
1978
 
11,815,943
130.8
6.27
10.77
0.52
104.76
1979
 
12,460,727
138.0
5.46
11.01
0.54
106.35
1980
 
12,761,955
141.3
2.42
11.20
0.54
106.89
1981
 
12,934,962
143.2
1.36
11.26
0.53
106.35
1982
 
12,862,878
142.4
-0.56
11.27
0.52
105.16
1983
 
13,182,023
145.9
2.48
11.40
0.52
105.08
1984
 
13,796,978
152.7
4.67
11.45
0.53
104.45
1985
 
14,284,986
158.1
3.54
11.54
0.54
103.83
1986
 
14,709,923
162.9
2.97
11.65
0.54
103.25
1987
 
15,300,046
169.4
4.01
11.81
0.55
103.02
1988
 
16,021,802
177.4
4.72
12.00
0.56
103.04
1989
 
16,425,901
181.8
2.52
12.06
0.56
101.89
1990
 
16,834,515
186.4
2.49
12.17
0.56
101.40
1991
 
16,750,052
185.4
-0.50
12.17
0.55
101.06
1992
 
16,390,983
181.5
-2.14
11.86
0.53
98.24
1993
 
16,367,123
181.2
-0.15
11.63
0.52
96.63
1994
 
16,540,724
183.1
1.06
11.47
0.53
95.87
1995
 
16,939,791
187.5
2.41
11.45
0.53
96.21
1996
 
17,341,994
192.0
2.37
11.48
0.54
96.59
1997
 
17,667,115
195.6
1.87
11.43
0.54
95.95
1998
 
18,432,865
204.1
4.33
11.63
0.56
97.26
1999
 
18,852,334
208.7
2.28
11.67
0.56
97.22
2000
 
19,228,895
212.9
2.00
11.63
0.57
96.53
2001
 
19,341,458
214.1
0.59
11.69
0.56
96.58
2002
 
19,358,251
214.3
0.09
11.73
0.56
96.71
2003
 
19,478,732
215.6
0.62
11.74
0.55
96.61
2004
 
19,784,214
219.0
1.57
11.72
0.56
96.45
2005
 
20,126,936
222.8
1.73
11.68
0.56
96.33
2006
 
20,505,244
227.0
1.88
11.66
0.57
96.58
2007
 
20,888,508
231.3
1.87
11.63
0.58
96.68
2008
 
20,654,365
228.7
-1.12
11.52
0.56
95.74
2009
 
19,837,727
219.6
-3.95
11.42
0.54
94.82
2010
 
19,642,544
217.5
-0.98
11.36
0.53
94.17
2011
 
19,986,185
221.3
1.75
11.35
0.53
94.01
2012
 
20,666,919
228.8
3.41
11.55
0.54
95.59
2013
 
21,318,697
236.0
3.15
11.69
0.56
96.72
2014
 
21,996,861
243.5
3.18
11.81
0.57
97.60
2015
 
22,687,175
251.2
3.14
11.92
0.58
98.45
2016
 
23,177,961
256.6
2.16
11.98
0.59
99.10
2017
 
23,548,874
260.7
1.60
11.99
0.60
99.34
2018
 
24,077,466
266.6
2.24
12.02
0.61
99.90
2019
 
24,225,068
268.2
0.61
12.01
0.61
100.32
2020
 
23,154,091
256.3
-4.42
11.86
0.59
99.50
2021
 
23,934,549
265.0
3.37
11.80
0.61
100.13
2022
 
25,300,974
280.1
5.71
11.91
0.65
101.70
Source: Calculations by the California Regional Economic Analysis Project (CA-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PSN
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
United States:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
91,053,200
100.0
N
0.45
1970
 
91,277,600
100.2
0.25
0.45
1971
 
91,581,400
100.6
0.33
0.44
1972
 
94,312,200
103.6
2.98
0.45
1973
 
98,427,500
108.1
4.36
0.47
1974
 
100,111,800
109.9
1.71
0.47
1975
 
98,900,600
108.6
-1.21
0.46
1976
 
101,591,200
111.6
2.72
0.47
1977
 
105,042,200
115.4
3.40
0.48
1978
 
109,686,600
120.5
4.42
0.49
1979
 
113,147,100
124.3
3.15
0.50
1980
 
113,983,200
125.2
0.74
0.50
1981
 
114,914,000
126.2
0.82
0.50
1982
 
114,163,300
125.4
-0.65
0.49
1983
 
115,645,700
127.0
1.30
0.49
1984
 
120,528,100
132.4
4.22
0.51
1985
 
123,796,700
136.0
2.71
0.52
1986
 
126,232,300
138.6
1.97
0.53
1987
 
129,548,400
142.3
2.63
0.53
1988
 
133,563,900
146.7
3.10
0.55
1989
 
136,177,800
149.6
1.96
0.55
1990
 
138,330,900
151.9
1.58
0.55
1991
 
137,612,800
151.1
-0.52
0.54
1992
 
138,166,100
151.7
0.40
0.54
1993
 
140,774,400
154.6
1.89
0.54
1994
 
144,196,600
158.4
2.43
0.55
1995
 
147,915,800
162.4
2.58
0.56
1996
 
151,056,200
165.9
2.12
0.56
1997
 
154,541,200
169.7
2.31
0.57
1998
 
158,481,200
174.1
2.55
0.57
1999
 
161,531,300
177.4
1.92
0.58
2000
 
165,370,800
181.6
2.38
0.59
2001
 
165,522,200
181.8
0.09
0.58
2002
 
165,095,100
181.3
-0.26
0.57
2003
 
165,921,500
182.2
0.50
0.57
2004
 
168,839,700
185.4
1.76
0.58
2005
 
172,338,400
189.3
2.07
0.58
2006
 
175,868,600
193.1
2.05
0.59
2007
 
179,543,700
197.2
2.09
0.60
2008
 
179,213,900
196.8
-0.18
0.59
2009
 
173,636,700
190.7
-3.11
0.57
2010
 
172,901,700
189.9
-0.42
0.56
2011
 
176,091,700
193.4
1.84
0.56
2012
 
178,979,700
196.6
1.64
0.57
2013
 
182,328,100
200.2
1.87
0.58
2014
 
186,239,800
204.5
2.15
0.58
2015
 
190,325,800
209.0
2.19
0.59
2016
 
193,425,900
212.4
1.63
0.60
2017
 
196,394,100
215.7
1.53
0.60
2018
 
200,292,200
220.0
1.98
0.61
2019
 
201,635,200
221.4
0.67
0.61
2020
 
195,286,600
214.5
-3.15
0.59
2021
 
202,752,100
222.7
3.82
0.61
2022
 
212,442,000
233.3
4.78
0.64
Source: Calculations by the California Regional Economic Analysis Project (CA-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PN
 
   
Copyright © 2023. Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Analysis Project (PNREAP). All Rights Reserved.

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To offer the most comprehensive set of interactive options in support of your research, CA-REAP calculates and crunches most of the data and generates the narrative and graphic analysis on demand in response to your request.
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