Real-time labor market data · January 2026
A holiday hangover, not a downturn
Nonfarm payrolls fell 20,400 in January as seasonal retail and administrative staffing wound down, the sharpest monthly drop of the past year. But the year-over gain of just 2,100 jobs, the smallest in twelve months, shows health care is still doing nearly all of the heavy lifting.
The two-year trend
Orange County's unemployment rate has moved between 3.3% and 4.8% over the past two years. January's 4.1% sits right in the middle of that range.
Swipe left to see the full two-year chart →
What moved this month
Nine of ten supersectors shed jobs in January. Trade, transportation and utilities led the way, down 7,600 jobs as retailers cut seasonal staff; retail trade alone accounted for 74% of that decline. Professional and business services followed, down 4,500 jobs.
Bar lengths are scaled to keep smaller changes visible; exact figures are shown beside each bar.
The twelve-month view
Private education and health services carried the year almost single-handedly, adding 14,600 jobs while government alone erased 15,100.
Bar lengths are scaled to keep smaller changes visible; exact figures are shown beside each bar.
Private education and health services added over the year, 91% of it in health care and social assistance (+13,300).
Leisure and hospitality jobs gained over the year.
Government jobs lost over the year, the single largest sectoral decline.
Manufacturing jobs lost over the year.
Where Orange County stands among California's 58 counties
Orange County tied for the second-lowest unemployment rate in the state in January, just behind San Mateo County.
| Rank | County | Labor force | Unemployment rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Mateo | 408,600 | 3.8% |
| 2 | Orange | 1,606,200 | 4.1% |
| 2 | San Francisco | 499,600 | 4.1% |
| 4 | Marin | 122,400 | 4.2% |
| 4 | Santa Clara | 1,024,700 | 4.2% |
| 6 | Mono | 8,160 | 4.3% |
| 7 | Placer | 207,900 | 4.4% |
| 8 | Alameda | 860,200 | 4.6% |
| 8 | San Luis Obispo | 130,500 | 4.6% |
| 8 | Sonoma | 244,000 | 4.6% |
Statewide, California's labor force stands at 19,622,900, with an unemployment rate of 5.5%.
Source: California Employment Development Department, Labor Market Information Division. Figures cover the Anaheim–Santa Ana–Irvine Metropolitan Division (Orange County), not seasonally adjusted. Industry employment is by place of work and excludes the self-employed; labor force and unemployment figures are by place of residence and include the self-employed. Data may not sum exactly due to rounding, and labor force estimates are revised in subsequent months.
Reference period: January 2026 (preliminary), with the prior month revised and the prior-year January for comparison.