For those of you who are thinking of moving to Orange, California now that the real estate prices have dropped enough to make California living affordable to more people, you shouldn't forget that you'll have to find a job there as well as a house. Be especially careful about leaving your pipe manufacturing job at Smith Loveless for the uncertainty of a job hunt, for the economy has still not recovered. Unemployment in Orange is still at 8.9%, which is still quite high even if it is lower than the state average (which is 12.3%). As the economy recovers from the recession, we can expect to see employment figures rise.

Top Industries

In terms of the number of companies focusing on a particular industry, such as manufacturing (which would include strapping machine manufacturers, computer manufacturers, etc), the largest industries in Orange are professional (i.e. scientific, computer, law) and health care at 17% and 15% of companies in town respectively. Following behind are retail at 15%, wholesale at 11%, accommodation at 9%, and manufacturing at 8%. The smallest industries are information and arts, each at less than 2% of companies.

Job Opportunities

What these statistics mean is that there are more job opportunities in some fields than in others. The dominance of health care and professional services, for instance, means that if you have training in SR & ED (scientific research and experimental development), nursing, or medicine, you will find it much easier to find a job than someone whose skills lie in public relations or painting.

Industry Activity

If you're a tradesperson your chances are medium. So what goes on here? Will you be cutting tubes or drilling for oil? If you have a heavy industry job, chances are you'll be in printing, plastics and rubber manufacture, fabricated metal and machinery production, or computer and furniture manufacturing. Given that the wholesale industry is large, transfer trucking is another popular industrial activity for tradespeople.

Best Bets for Jobs

Statistics show that if you're a man, you're most likely to find a job as a manager in a construction related industry and if you're a woman, you're more likely to find employment as an administrator or supervisor in a health care clinic or hospital. Experience with water treatment chemicals could be bent toward supporting either. Other common jobs include: (for men) sales representative, building maintenance, and engineer and (for women) secretary, teacher, clerk, and customer service representative.