In September, San Diego County's unemployment rate dipped to 4%, a decrease from August's revised rate of 4.3% but higher than the previous year's 3.1%. In contrast, California saw a marginal rise in its unemployment rate, settling at 4.7%, as reported by the California Employment Development Department (EDD).
California’s unemployment rate increases slightly in September. Employers added 8,700 nonfarm payroll jobs.
— EDD (@CA_EDD) October 20, 2023
For more information, visit: https://t.co/LIqIilyBMP
#WorkingInCA #PressRelease #EDDNews pic.twitter.com/hAezP4EquX
The changing unemployment, in San Diego County was largely due to an increase in government employment, which added 8,000 jobs to the area. Local government educational services contributed a bulk of these jobs (6,800), while the state government and the federal government added 1,100 and 100 jobs respectively.
Additionally, San Diego's construction industry experienced growth, adding 1,100 jobs. However, professional and business services reported a decrease in jobs, tallying a loss of 3,600 positions. Within this sector, professional, scientific, and technical services accounted for 3,100 of the lost jobs.
In California, nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 8,700. This growth was mainly due to job gains in private education and health services, which added 18,200 positions, and leisure and hospitality, which added 11,300 jobs based on data from EDD. The state, like San Diego, also saw a decrease in professional and business services, shedding 10,900 jobs in September.
Despite the flux in California's unemployment rate, it's important to note that since February 2020, the state has added 436,400 nonfarm jobs. From the beginning of economic expansion in April 2020, California has been experiencing a monthly average job gain of 77,829.
When considering the year-over-year job market changes in San Diego County, nonfarm employment rose by 28,900 between September 2022 and September 2023, a gain of 1.9% as stated by Patch. The largest sector for growth was leisure and hospitality, adding 11,700 jobs. This increase was notably split between accommodation and food services (up by 6,600 jobs) and arts, entertainment, and recreation (up by 5,100 jobs), the latter marking a 17% year-over increase, per the State of California Employment Development Department.
