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The state’s unemployment rate was 5.3% in March while the U.S.’s was 3.9%.

Nonfarm OC employment increased by 7,100 jobs from February to March when 1.7 million people were employed.

Six of the 11 industry sectors saw job increases.

Leading the job increase was the leisure and hospitality sector, up 4,500, led by arts, entertainment and recreation, up 2,900 jobs.

Four sectors reported declines, led by manufacturing, trade and financial activities, each down 400 jobs.

About 18 million people worked in California in March, an increase of 28,300 nonfarm payroll jobs from February and up about 217,700 jobs from a year earlier.

Seven of the 11 industry sectors added jobs month-over-month, led by private education and health services, up 13,600.

People receiving unemployment benefits rose by 20,370 to 446,130.

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California State University, Fullerton’s quarterly OCBX index dipped from 78 in the first three months of the year to 76.5 for the current quarter.

It was the first decline after five quarters of increases for the OCBX—which is a measure of the overall view of the economy—according to Anil Puri, the director of the Woods Center for Economic Analysis and Forecasting at the university.

The OCBX, short for Orange County Business Expectations, still shows a local economy that’s expected to remain strong. A reading of above 50 indicates a belief in future growth.

At the start of 2023, when most national economists were predicting a recession, which never came, amid rising interest rates and lingering high inflation, the index stood at 60.5.

The latest downtick, while small, is worth keeping an eye on, according to Puri.

“Even though it is a small change, if it persists, it will indicate softening of the economy later this year,” Puri told the Business Journal on April 8.

He emphasized that the “economy is strong today.”

Growth Signs

While the results for the second quarter may be less optimistic in the past, there are plenty of signs of robust growth in OC.

For instance, the OCVibe development group is moving forward with its $4 billion mixed-use development near the Honda Center in Anaheim, marking one of the largest projects of its type in the region; see the April 8 print edition of the Business Journal for more information on that development.

On the stock front, Newport Beach-based giant Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) has risen to an all-time high valuation of $80 billion, making it OC’s most valuable public company. Its shares are up nearly 70% the past year.

Among signs of worry: OC unemployment rate stood at 4.2% as of February. That’s up from 3.4% a year ago, and is the highest seen in the county in two years. California’s unemployment rate was 5.6% in February.

Some key segments of the OC’s tech industry are also feeling pressure, albeit not as much as Silicon Valley, which has seen a number of major layoffs.

OC’s key semiconductor sector has seen some downsizing of late, with firms with local operations like Tower Semiconductor announcing plans to furlough nearly 700 workers, and Marvell Technology Inc. cutting 50 local positions.

Aliso Viejo-based Indie Semiconductor Inc. (Nasdaq: INDI), which specializes in automotive uses, said in February that while the company is “not immune from the current automotive end market weakness,” it is well positioned to demonstrate earnings power when the market recovers. It has not announced any local job cuts.

In the area’s large gaming software market, two key players, Blizzard Entertainment and Sega of America, have announced local job cuts as well. Blizzard’s cut of 478 Irvine workers—which was due to be finalized at the end of March, according to state employment filings—is one of the biggest mass layoffs seen in the area in years.

The Fullerton center’s OCBX outlook, which was sent to 500 area business executives, indicated that the 18% of firms responding intend to increase their labor force, compared to 22% in the previous quarter, while inflation continues to be a “major concern.”

Over 90% of businesspeople expect labor costs to go higher or stay the same.

Inflation Worries

The nation’s inflation rate was 3.5% in March, according to figures released on Wednesday, as rising costs remain a constant concern.

“Inflation expectations have moved in the direction of higher inflation by the end of 2024, around 3% to 3.5% percent.” Puri told the Business Journal.

The OCBX was compiled before Wednesday’s U.S. government report.

The growth in the stock market has led some to caution shares may have grown too far and too fast though the survey results tend in the other direction.

“Respondents generally don’t think that the stock market is in a bubble. They think it is justified by the earnings.” Puri said. “They think that the U.S. has been so resilient because of substantial government spending and fundamental economic factors.”

They also tend to believe in the prospect of artificial intelligence and other tech innovations that have been spreading across all sectors of business, he said.

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The combined valuation of those 46 OC companies didn’t quite keep up with the S&P 500 Index, which jumped 31% during the same period. Still, the $241.9 billion cumulative market cap of the 46 companies on this week’s Business Journal list is about equal to Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP).

It’s a much better performance than last year’s list, when the companies on the list reported a 22% decline from 2022 levels.

2022’s cumulative market value of $261.4 billion for OC’s top public companies is the highest-ever figure for the Business Journal’s annual list, which tracks the largest publicly traded companies with headquarters in Orange County.

The list, with a cutoff of $100 million market cap, includes companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq or over-the-counter exchanges.

Twenty-seven companies now have a market cap above $1 billion, compared with 25 on last year’s list and 30 the year before.

Irvine once again dominated the list as the headquarters of 21 companies, followed by Newport Beach and Santa Ana with four each.

King Chipotle

The biggest reason for the increase was No. 1 Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., which boosted its market cap by $33.9 billion to $81.4 billion.

The Newport Beach-based company (NYSE: CMG) is now the nation’s third most valuable restaurant chain, following McDonald’s and Starbucks.

Chipotle’s gain in valuation over the past year is larger than the market value of every other company on the list, except for No. 2 Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW), the Irvine-based maker of heart stents.

Factoring out Chipotle, the other 45 firms on the list saw just a cumulative 4% boost in valuation, compared to 2023’s list.

The restaurant firm believes it has plenty of room to grow further.

“I think the brand’s got a lot of upsides in it,” Chief Executive Brian Niccol told analysts on a February conference call.

Since Niccol moved the headquarters from Denver to Newport Beach in 2018, the company’s shares have risen twelvefold; Niccol in 2020 won a Business Journal Businessperson of the Year award; its shares have more than tripled since then.

Top 5

Prior No. 1 Edwards Lifesciences rebounded this year with a 13% increase to $56.5 billion, after seeing its market cap decline 33% on last year’s list.

Its gains over the past year, combined with Chipotle, represented about 104% of the list’s increase in market cap. Overall, 24 companies on the list saw their market caps increase while 21 experienced a decline.

Declines were seen for the remainder of the top 5 on the list.

No. 3 Skyworks Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq: SWKS), an Irvine-based manufacturer of semiconductors, fell 5.4% to $16.8 billion as the chip industry experienced a slowdown in demand.

No. 4 Rivian Automotive Inc., the Irvine-based electric vehicle maker (Nasdaq: RIVN), last year appeared ready to rebound from 2022 when its market cap plummeted. While the company’s market cap rose in 2023, its production forecast for 2024 disappointed investors, who sent the shares down in the first quarter this year. On the Business Journal’s list, its market cap fell 18% to $10.6 billion.

No. 5 Masimo Corp.’s (Nasdaq: MASI) market cap declined 24% to $7.4 billion. The Irvine-based maker of noninvasive medical devices may sell its consumer unit to stave off a proxy battle (see story, page 1).

Notables

• The biggest percentage increase in valuation was 288% at drugmaker Tarsus Pharmaceuticals Inc., which now sports a $1.3 billion market cap (Nasdaq: TARS).

The Irvine-based company last July won Food and Drug Administration approval for Tarsus’ medication called Xdemvy, a name that stands for X-ing out the Demodex blepharitis disease that causes mites in eyes. The drug, a teardrop administered twice a day for six weeks, is the only FDA-approved medication to treat a disease that affects 25 million eye care patients in the U.S.

The company proved the necessity of the medication as its fourth-quarter revenue exploded to $13.1 million, up 589% from the third quarter when it was introduced.

• The second biggest increase on the list was RxSight Inc. (Nasdaq: RXST), which climbed 216% to $1.8 billion market cap. The Aliso Viejo-based company makes cataract lenses that can be corrected after surgeries, something no other company can do.
RxSight, which went public in 2022, is currently the most valuable public company in OC’s vital ophthalmology industry.

• The third biggest increase was 213% to $2.3 billion at Banc of California Inc. (NYSE: BANC). When the Santa Ana-based bank acquired PacWest Bank last year, its market cap was around $800 million. Banc’s CEO Jared Wolff at that time told the Business Journal that it would take a few months for Wall Street to realize its true value. Its increased market cap helped it climb from No. 29 to No. 16.

The acquisition helped the bank report the list’s second biggest revenue jump, 359% to $1.5 billion. It also had the second biggest increase in OC employees, 55% to 630. While the bank reports its official headquarters as Los Angeles, Wolff said it’s keeping its Santa Ana office as an unofficial headquarters as well.

Combined Results

Combined, the 46 companies on the list saw their revenue increase 9.3% to $69.4 billion.

The combined companies reported a loss of $4.3 billion. Stripping out the $5.4 billion loss reported by Rivian, they would have reported a profit of around $1.1 billion. The local public companies saw their assets rise about 20% to $182.4 billion.

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The area’s top 15 agencies reported $594 million in total revenue last year, a decline of about 1% year-over-year.

It could’ve been worse; revenue for employment agencies in the U.S. last year declined an estimated 10% to $201.7 billion, according to a report from Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA).

2022 marked a record year for the industry, SIA reports.

The SIA report cites factors such as labor hoarding and a shrinking number of remote work positions to blame for last year’s industrywide decrease.

SIA predicts that the U.S. industry will return to growing in 2024, with increases in sectors such as engineering and education.

Staffing agencies are often seen as a bellwether for the job market, as companies tap their services to fill positions ranging from industrial to administrative, before making permanent hires.

Orange County’s unemployment stood at 4.2% in January, the highest level in two years.
That figure is up from a revised 3.8% in December and above the 3.4% rate seen in January last year, according to data this month from the state’s Employment Development Department.

The state’s unemployment rate was 5.7% in January while the U.S.’s was 4.1%.

20K Placements

The modest drop in 2023 revenue for OC’s agencies follows steady growth in recent years, with an 11% jump in 2022 and a 1.7% increase in 2021.

OC employment agencies underwent three years of declines prior to 2021, when companies suffered labor losses from the pandemic.

This year’s Business Journal Employment Agencies list includes 15 firms ranked by OC revenue.

Staffing agencies said they placed 20,543 temporary workers at OC firms last year, down 4.7% from 2022.

The number of permanent workers similarly decreased 14% to 678, a drop from the 28% increase the prior year.

Of the ranked agencies, five reported an increase, four reported a decline and the remaining six were Business Journal estimates.

Top 3 Firms

One thing that remained unchanged from last year was the three largest staffing firms topping the list.

Atlanta-based Employbridge, formerly known as Select Staffing, retained its No. 1 position.

The firm, which operates locally in Irvine, saw OC revenue decrease 12% to $88.1 million.

Employbridge last month posted highlights from the Bureau Labor Statistics which reported that the U.S. economy added 275,000 jobs in February, about 9% above analysts’ predictions. This unexpected gain was attributed to a spike in healthcare services, transportation and warehousing and food service jobs.

Orange-based Roth Staffing Cos. LP, the second largest on the list, reported an 8.8% decrease to $74.3 million.

Roth Staffing is the largest employment agency based in OC with 156 employees locally.

“Many industries and companies experienced over hiring in 2021 and 2022, contributing to fluctuations in the market,” Roth Staffing’s Chief Executive Adam Roth told the Business Journal.

Completing the top three is Tustin-based PriorityWorkforce Inc., which reported a 3% increase in revenue to $65 million.

Job Demand

For the second year in a row, Irvine-based Pacific Companies Inc. saw the largest local revenue increase.

The firm, which specializes in healthcare placements, reported a 35% increase in revenue to $46 million.

The largest decrease in local revenue came from Irvine-based Express Employment Professionals, down 21% to $17.2 million, moving it down one slot to No. 12 on the list.

“2022 sales were the company’s highest on record, and 2023 was just a slight decrease,” William Dunn, franchise developer and owner at Express Employment, told the Business Journal.

“As the economy continues to recover from the pandemic, conditions in 2023 were simply different than the year before.”

Industries seeing the most demand and growth in OC include jobs in healthcare, manufacturing and hospitality, according to Dunn.

He said staffing agencies both locally and nationally are currently experiencing a transitional phase during the backdrop of an election.

“Our predominant sector, historically characterized by evaluation hire, is presently witnessing a shift towards temporary arrangements,” Dunn said.

The firm anticipates a roughly 4% payroll increase in OC for this year driven by a shortage of talent creating a competitive landscape for employers.

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It’s the highest unemployment level in two years.

The state’s unemployment rate was 5.6% in February while the U.S.’s was 4.2%.

Nonfarm OC employment increased by 10,400 jobs from January to February when 1.69 million were employed.

Six of the 11 industry sectors saw job increases.

Leading the job increase was the professional and business services sector, up 3,400 jobs, led by the administrative and support and waste management and remediation services, with 1,900 jobs that provided the majority.

Private education and health services added 3,300 jobs while government was up 2,500 jobs.

Trade, transportation and utilities decreased the most, 1,300, led by retail trade drop of 1,700 jobs.

About 18 million worked in California in February, a decline of 3,400 jobs from January and up about , an increase of 58,100 nonfarm payroll jobs from December and up about 179,700 jobs from a year earlier.

The biggest decline was in construction, which fell 9,600 jobs. Four of the 11 industry sectors added jobs month-over-month, led by private education and health services, up 15,400.

People receiving unemployment benefits rose by 33,219 to 425,760.

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Mosca served as interim CEO since June 1, following the departure of Brian Probolsky. Mosca previously served as the director of Communications and External Affairs for OCPA.

Since its start in 2020, the entity has received criticism from both conservative and progressive politicians, some of whom won elections on platforms to abolish it or fire its chief executive. It’s lost customers like the County of Orange while Huntington Beach plans to leave.

The agency, which has more than 231,000 customers, received 126 applications for the top job and interviewed four candidates.

“After a comprehensive multinational search for the CEO of the Orange County Power Authority, the board of directors has elected to select Mr. Joe Mosca to lead the agency into the next chapter,” Chair Fred Jung said in a statement. “Mr. Mosca’s deep expertise in the energy sector and local government have been a tremendous asset to the Orange County Power Authority.”

Prior to joining OCPA, Mosca was a founding member and the former chair of the San Diego Community Power board of directors and also worked with San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas Company. Additionally, Mosca served as the Mayor of Sierra Madre in Los Angeles County and the Deputy Mayor of Encinitas in San Diego County.

Mosca holds a Juris Doctorate from Quinnipiac University School of Law and is an active member of the California Bar Association.

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It’s up from a revised 3.8% in December and above the 3.4% rate seen in January last year, according to the state’s Employment Development Department.

The state’s unemployment rate was 5.7% in January while the U.S.’s was 4.1%.

Nonfarm OC employment decreased by 24,700 jobs from December to January when 1.68 million were employed.

Ten of the 11 industry sectors saw job declines.

Leading the job decrease was the trade, transportation and utilities sector, which fell 6,800 jobs, particularly retail trade that was down 5,500. Leisure and hospitality had the next biggest decline, down 6,200 jobs.

About 18 million worked in California in January, an increase of 58,100 nonfarm payroll jobs from December and up about 225,400 jobs from a year earlier.

Ten of the 11 industry sectors added jobs month-over-month, led by private education and health services, up 18,100.

People receiving unemployment benefits rose by 15,669 to 392,541.

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The sector—a collection of test makers and laboratories for infectious diseases and various cancers, specialized equipment manufacturers, and testing product suppliers—fell nearly 1% to 3,941 local employees, according to this week’s Business Journal annual list that counts 15 companies.

That follows a 5.7% drop on last year’s list and a 2.6% decline in 2022. Prior to that, the industry saw steep gains in employment due to COVID-related work.

Only two companies on this year’s list, which ranks companies by local employee headcount, reported year-over-year increases in local employees.

A notable increase was No. 15 Embic Corp. of Newport Beach, a newcomer to the list this year. It more than doubled its headcount to 12.

The company, which develops tests for Alzheimer’s disease, said recent approval for Alzheimer’s treatments has caused a surge in activity surrounding cognitive health (see story, page 20).

“These opportunities are so concrete and compelling that Embic is staffing up to address them,” Chief Executive Dennis Fortier told the Business Journal.

Beckman Coulter

Retaining the top spot on the list was Quest Diagnostics Inc., with a Business Journal estimate of 1,900 employees at its San Juan Capistrano operations.

The New Jersey-based company (NYSE: DGX), which had 49,000 companywide employees at the end of 2022, calls itself the world’s leading provider of diagnostic information services, generating almost $10 billion in sales in 2022.

No. 2 was Brea’s Beckman Coulter Diagnostics Inc., which reported a 3% decline to 623 employees.

Much of its local workforce has gone remote in recent years, resulting in declines in its stated local base.

The latest decrease is “just a matter of flexing our workforce,” according to Jeff Tarmy, director of global public relations and media at Beckman Coulter.

“We don’t really see it as a significant subtraction.”

Beckman Coulter, which was started by legendary Orange County inventor Arnold Beckman, earlier this month appointed Kevin O’Reilly as its new president.

O’Reilly counts more than three decades of experience in the healthcare industry, having previously served as president of radiation oncology solutions at Varian Medical Systems Inc., which was acquired by Siemens Healthineers in 2021.

“I am very excited to join this team with its legacy of innovation and its deep pipeline of diagnostics advancements designed to play a vital role in improving healthcare outcomes worldwide,” O’Reilly said in a statement.

O’Reilly succeeds Julie Sawyer Montgomery, who is now vice president and group executive of Danaher Corp., parent company of Beckman Coulter. The combined revenue for all 15 companies operating under Danaher, including Beckman Coulter, was $23.9 billion for 2023.

Commercialization

Another increase on the list came from No. 9 Irvine-based Fluxergy LLC, which increased employment 15% to 69.

The company said it’s preparing for the launch of its point-of-care testing system early this year.

“We are determined to be the first diagnostic company to overcome the hurdles in point-of-care testing with our Fluxergy platform,” Chief Executive Tej Patel told the Business Journal.

Fluxergy expects to hire more employees over the next few years to help drive the commercialization of its system and development of its assay menu, according to Patel.

Helio Genomics ranked No. 13 for the second year, remaining unchanged at 35 employees.

The Irvine-based cancer diagnostics firm recently published a study in collaboration with the University of California, Irvine, aiming to improve the detection of early stage cancer with a simple blood test.

Helio expects to submit its HelioLiver test to the Food and Drug Administration this summer.

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The state’s unemployment rate was 5.1% in December while the U.S.’s was 3.5%.

Nonfarm OC employment gained 5,600 jobs from November to December when 1.74 million were employed.

The county has surpassed the February 2020 pre-pandemic employment level of 1.68 million jobs.

Five of the 11 industry sectors saw job increases.

Leading the job increase was the professional and business services, which added 2,600 jobs. Other sectors adding jobs included leisure and hospitality, up 2,500, and private education and health services, up 2,100.

The largest decline was 2,100 in government jobs.

About 18.2 million worked in California in December, an increase of 23,400 nonfarm payroll jobs from November and up about 311,000 jobs from a year earlier.

Six of the 11 industry sectors added jobs month-over-month, led by private education and health services, up 13,200, due to increases in nursing care facilities.

Professional & Business Services was the biggest decliner, falling 3,800 jobs.

People receiving unemployment benefits rose by 52,897 to 376,872.

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