Real-time labor market data · February 2026
The rate improves, but payrolls keep shrinking
Orange County's unemployment rate ticked down to 4.0% in February, yet nonfarm payrolls fell for a second straight month and are now down 6,000 from a year ago, the first year-over decline in this data series. Government accounts for nearly all of it.
The two-year trend
The rate has held between 3.3% and 4.8% for two years. February's 4.0% continues a slow drift down from last summer's peak.
Swipe left to see the full two-year chart →
What moved this month
Trade, transportation and utilities led February's decline, down 2,400 jobs, with nearly two-thirds of that in retail trade. Five other sectors added a combined 2,600 jobs, led by leisure and hospitality and government, up 900 jobs apiece.
Bar lengths are scaled to keep smaller changes visible; exact figures are shown beside each bar.
The twelve-month view
Government's 15,900-job annual decline, 89% of it in local government, outweighs solid gains in private education and health services.
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, 85% of it in health care and social assistance (+8,200).
Leisure and hospitality jobs gained over the year.
Government jobs lost over the year, 89% of it in local government (−14,100).
Manufacturing jobs lost over the year.
Where Orange County stands among California's 58 counties
Orange County ranked third-lowest in the state for unemployment in February, behind San Mateo and San Francisco counties.
| Rank | County | Labor force | Unemployment rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Mateo | 412,800 | 3.7% |
| 2 | San Francisco | 504,600 | 3.9% |
| 3 | Orange | 1,619,500 | 4.0% |
| 4 | Marin | 124,200 | 4.1% |
| 4 | Mono | 8,510 | 4.1% |
| 4 | Santa Clara | 1,035,100 | 4.1% |
| 7 | Placer | 209,800 | 4.3% |
| 8 | San Luis Obispo | 132,900 | 4.4% |
| 8 | Sonoma | 247,600 | 4.4% |
| 10 | Alameda | 867,700 | 4.5% |
Statewide, California's labor force stands at 19,740,400, 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: February 2026 (preliminary), with the prior month revised and the prior-year February for comparison.