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Irvine leads the county in layoffs. Is it a numbers game?
Yes, Irvine has the most major layoffs, but it also has the most employees.
By Susan BelknappPublished: July 09, 2009 08:20 AM
Irvine leads Orange County in major layoffs, according to media reports. A layoff is considered “major” when more than 50 employees from one company are laid off at one time. Layoffs of this magnitude must be reported to the state.
So far in 2009, Irvine has lost 3,931 jobs. The number of layoffs for the next highest O.C. cities, Santa Ana and Newport Beach, are 1,288 and 715, respectively.
Common sense might dictate that the city with the most employees would logically be the one with the highest number of layoffs, though the numbers still might indicate a disproportionately high percentage in Irvine.
“The jobs in Irvine total roughly 211,000,” says Craig Reem, director of Public Affairs and Communications for the city of Irvine.
Taking that figure and dividing the 3,931 layoffs by total number of jobs, results in a loss of 1.9 percent.
According to the latest Employment Development Department statistics, Irvine’s unemployment is at 6.5 percent, however, that only takes the resident workforce into account. Irvine’s labor force is 84,300 people; its number of unemployed is 5,500, giving an unemployment calculation of 6.5 percent. If you take the 211,000 jobs figure and subtract the resident workforce, roughly 126,700 of those employed in Irvine come from out-of-city.
“We have one of the county's largest employment bases, with more than
211,000 jobs,” says Ken Brown, strategic business plan administrator
for the city of Irvine. “So in any significant downturn, we will be
affected.”
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Irvine leads Orange County in major layoffs, according to media reports. A layoff is considered “major” when more than 50 employees from one company are laid off at one time. Layoffs of this magnitude must be reported to the state. So far in 2009, Irvine has lost 3,931 jobs. The number of layoffs for the next highest O.C. cities, Santa Ana and Newport Beach, are 1,288 and 715, respectively. Common sense might dictate that the city with the most employees would logically be the one with the highest number of layoffs, though the numbers still might indicate a disproportionately high percentage in Irvine. “The jobs in Irvine total roughly 211,000,” says Craig Reem, director of Public Affairs and Communications for the city of Irvine. Taking that figure and dividing the 3,931 layoffs by total number of jobs, results in a loss of 1.9 percent. According to the latest Employment Development Department statistics, Irvine’s unemployment is at 6.5 percent, however, that only takes the resident workforce into account. Irvine’s labor force is 84,300 people; its number of unemployed is 5,500, giving an unemployment calculation of 6.5 percent. If you take the 211,000 jobs figure and subtract the resident workforce, roughly 126,700 of those employed in Irvine come from out-of-city. “We have one of the county's largest employment bases, with more than 211,000 jobs,” says Ken Brown, strategic business plan administrator for the city of Irvine. “So in any significant downturn, we will be affected.” NEXT PAGE >> Related headlines Irvine among 10 fastest growing cities Irvine’s Quantum inks deal with Fisker Automotive Orange County among the 10 riskiest housing markets nationwide Irvine’s Local.com sees record search traffic |
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