Today the California Employment Development Department (EDD) released the monthly unemployment report (May to June 2014). Highlights from the San Diego region include:
- San Diego’s unemployment rate rose 0.3 percent, from 5.8 percent in May to 6.1 percent in June
- Civilian labor force increased by 3,200
- Civilian employment decreased by 800
- 9,700 nonfarm jobs were added to the region
- The two industries with the largest month-over employment gains were leisure and hospitality and professional and business services
San Diego’s unemployment rate continues to hover around 6 percent, falling between the lowest unemployment rate (3.7 percent) and the highest unemployment rate (11 percent) that San Diego has experienced in the last 10 years. While San Diego’s unemployment rate is well under what it was in the Great Recession, it still has not recovered to pre-recession levels.
Specific to the current release, the EDD reported a rise in San Diego’s unemployment rate from 5.8 percent in May 2014 to 6.1 percent in June 2014. Although the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percent, this mostly resulted from an increase of 3,200 people in the civilian labor force and a decrease of 800 in civilian employment.
The industry with the highest growth between May and June was leisure and hospitality with a month-over gain of 3,000 jobs. Arts, entertainment and recreation added 1,700 jobs, while accommodation and food service added 1,300 jobs. Similar to last month’s unemployment numbers, many of these jobs are likely seasonal, due to the increase of visitors to San Diego during the summer months.
Professional and business services reported the second highest month-over employment gain, with 2,400 jobs added between May and June, and the highest year-over employment gain with 6,900 jobs added from June 2013 to June 2014.
Although the unemployment rate increased from May to June, it is important to note that the labor force has increased as well. People are more encouraged with prospects of finding a job and are willing to re-enter the labor force to seek employment in San Diego.