More Moved In Than Out Last Year in O.C.

Orange County attracted more new residents than it lost to other regions in 1996, according to just-released statistics from the state Department of Finance.

During the previous three years, the county had suffered a net migration loss of nearly 11,000 as more people moved away due to the lingering effects of the economic recession. That marked a reversal of a long-held pattern in the county of more people moving in than leaving.

But last year, the tide turned again, as many economists had predicted. They had assumed that the county’s healthier economy and growing jobs base would attract newcomers in bigger numbers, and forestall departures.

The net gain was small, though. Just 670 more people moved to the county than relocated last year. And over the next two decades, economists and demographers say, the migration exodus could resume as the county runs out of room for new housing.

The county’s population will continue to grow, they say, but only as a result of natural increase--more births than deaths. That has led to predictions of a possible staffing shortage for county businesses after the turn of the century.