Approximately three fourths of all Orange County jobs are in the Clusters. These clusters were chosen to reflect both key economic drivers for the Orange County economy and industries that are central to workforce development. Understanding employment trends in these clusters can and should influence workforce and economic development policy. In addition, understanding comparative salary levels and salary growth trends is vital for education and workforce development policy. This information, combined with information from the indicator on cluster employment growth trends, allows workforce development professionals and the business community to understand how the County’s economy is performing in terms of generating jobs at differing salary levels. For example, if growth of low wage jobs is not balanced by growth of high wage jobs, there will be problems –- especially so in a high cost of living location like Orange County. Additionally, the economic impact for economic sectors are identified through creating numerical values that summarize how investment spent in a sector produces an economic impact throughout the rest of the local economy. These values are called “multipliers.” For example, if the manufacturing sector of the local Orange County economy is said to have an economic multiplier of 2.29, then for every 10 employees hired in manufacturing, a total of 23 jobs will be produced throughout the entire Orange County economy.
About the Clusters: Clusters marked with a ¤ include Occupations frequently requiring skills in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
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Business and Professional Services | The provision of specialized services in support of businesses. These include areas such as law, accounting, architecture, computer programming, consulting market research, and advertising.
* Management and Administration Sub-Cluster | The establishment and staffing or businesses. These include firms involved with management of companies, administrative support, employment and temporary help services, document preparation, telemarketing companies, collection agencies, credit bureaus, janitorial services, locksmiths, security services, and convention and trade show organizations.
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Emerging Cluster -Energy, Environment, and Green Technologies | The field of the future that will utilize high technology in transportation, in the construction and modification of the built environment, in economic development in response to climate change, and will respond to the emerging legislative mandates affecting the economy. Green technologies will include efficiencies and re-use and/or transformation of waste into usable products. Recycling and organizing resources in a new way, will respond to energy needs and shortages while also growing the economy.
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FIRE - Finance, Insurance, Real Estate | Financial operation of the economy through real estate, banking, and insurance. FIRE includes banks, credit unions, mortgage loan originators, insurance companies, rental centers, and real estate offices.
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Construction¤ | Construction, design, and development of buildings and built structures. These include firms involved with housing construction, industrial building construction, utility system construction, highway construction, and specialized contractors (plumbers, electricians, roofers, etc.). In addition, the construction cluster includes components of geospatial architectural research and auto-CAD work.
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Healthcare Cluster¤ | Healthcare services. These include hospitals, outpatient care centers, family planning centers, home healthcare services, ambulance services, nursing care facilities, social assistance agencies, and intermediate (nursing homes) and residential care facilities.
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Information Technology Cluster¤ | Creation of items used in advanced technology economies. These include computer software, telecommunications, internet service provision, motion pictures, and publishing businesses.
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Logistics and Transportation | The flow of goods, information and other resources, including energy and people, between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet the requirements of consumers (frequently, and originally, military organizations). Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, and inventory; warehousing, material-handling, and packaging. Logistic and Transportation businesses include wholesalers, railroads, trucking, taxis, and charter bus businesses.
* Transportation Sub-Cluster | Transport of goods and commercial transportation such as railroads, air cargo, shipping, trucking, taxis, and charter buses.
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Manufacturing¤ | Create finished goods from raw materials, such as food products, wood products, apparel, printing, paper, plastics, biotechnology goods, glass, aluminum, semiconductors, transportation items (aerospace, automobiles, boats), and furniture.
* Advanced Manufacturing Sub-Cluster | Specialize in emerging elements of high-technology manufacturing. These include biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and aerospace.
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Emerging Cluster-Biotechnology/Nanotechnology¤ | A future employment cluster which will produce discoveries in biology and technology and mix the two to create new products, services and industries to enhance healthcare and biological care. While pharmaceuticals and medical device manufacturing are two components of this industry, discoveries from the human genome project, nanotechnology, and advances in biological knowledge promise the emergence of fields that can only be imagined now.
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Hospitality and Tourism | Promotion and services for visitors to a particular location. These include hotels, museums, amusement parks, casinos, restaurants, and caterers.
* Hospitality Sub-Cluster | Hotels and restaurants within the Tourism industry cluster; the provision of accommodation and hospitality services to visitors such as hotels, restaurants, casinos, and caterers.
