UCI

The Economy: Orange County Economy

Residents' evaluations of local economic conditions are considerably less positive than last year and are now back to levels that were reported during the last recession.

Nineteen percent think the Orange County economy is currently in excellent or good shape, while 50 percent describe it as fair and 30 percent say poor. One percent are unsure.

A year ago, 28 percent believed the county's economy was in excellent or good condition, and only 17 percent said it was poor. The 1995 excellent and good ratings are similar to those we saw in the 1992 survey (19%) and the 1993 survey (20%). Similarly , the 1995 poor ratings are about the same as those we recorded in the 1992 survey (28%) and the 1993 survey (30%).

There are no differences in evaluations of the Orange County economy today by age, household income or region.

Significantly, the one in four who have been affected by the bankruptcy are more likely than others to say the county economy is in poor condition (39% to 26%). Also, the one in four who are very fearful about the bankruptcy's future impacts on themsel ves are more likely than those who are not fearful at all to believe that the Orange County economy is in poor shape (41% to 24%).

Despite their negative evaluations of the current local economy, residents remain confident in the county's future, with 46 percent expecting the Orange County economy to be in better shape two years from now than it is today, 32 percent expecting it t o be the same and 19 percent thinking the local economy will get worse. Three percent are unsure. The number with a positive outlook is unchanged from 1994 (43%) and 1992 (46%) and there has been no increase in those expecting the economy to become worse.

There are no major differences by income, age or region of the county.

Those who have already been affected by the bankruptcy are more likely than others to say the county economy will get worse (28% to 16%). Also, those who are very fearful about the bankruptcy's future impacts on themselves are more likely than those wh o are not fearful at all to expect that the Orange County economy will be in worse shape in two years (30% to 15%).