THE JOBLESS rate in Orange County rose stayed steady at 4.2 percent in August.

Orange County lost 1,400 jobs in the August, but the unemployment rate stayed steady at 4.2 percent. That’s according to a report issue on Friday by the state Employment Development Department.

Between July and August, total non-farm employment dipped from 1,575,600 to 1,574,200. The biggest part of the drop came in government jobs as 3,800 positions were lost, mostly due to seasonal cutbacks in education.

The largest increase came from professional and business services, a bump of 2,000 jobs, mostly in professional scientific and technical services.

Year-to-year numbers show a net increase of 900 jobs compared to August 2016. The current statewide number is 5.4 percent and 4.5 percent across the nation.

Townhouse plan goes to GG planners

A public hearing on a proposed 17-unit townhouse development will be held at the Sept. 21 meeting of the Garden Grove Planning Commission.

Buaro Partners, LLC, is planning to construct the attached homes in two new buildings on the west side of Buaro Street, south of Chapman Avenue between Jentges and Twintree avenues.

The commission meets at 7 p.m. in the council chamber in the Community Meeting Center, 11300 Stanford Ave.

New asst. city manager for Huntington Beach

Lori Ann Farrell Harrison, the chief financial officer for the City of Huntington Beach, will be confirmed as the new assistant city manager at the Sept. 18 meeting of the city council.

Before coming to Huntington Beach, she has served as city comptroller for Long Beach and is a former president of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners.

Human rights activist welcomed at GGUSD

Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh, who was recently released from an 11-year sentence in Vietnam, was honored Thursday at a special meeting of the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education.

Chinh, a Protestant clergyman, was an activist for religious freedom, human rights and democracy. His five children are now enrolled in GGUSD schools.

PASTOR NGUYEN CONG CHINH (at left) and family were hosted Thursday by the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education and top administrators (GGUSD photo).