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June 10, 2013

On Friday, June 7, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that 175,000 jobs were added in May – up from a downwardly revised 149,000 in April. The unemployment rate rose slighty to 7.6 percent from 7.5 percent.

The increase in the unemployment rate is driven mainly by 420,000 people joining the labor force; however, June’s labor-force participation rate of 63.4 percent is still below the 66 percent that prevailed before the recession. The total number of unemployed people rose from 11.7 million to 11.8 million.

Similar to the BLS national employment situation summary, San Diego has experienced a growth in nonfarm employment. Between March 2013 and April 2013, San Diego county had a gain of 2,400 jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry and 2,300 jobs in trade, transportation and utilities.

Over the past three years, total non-farm employment has faced an average increase of roughly 25,000 jobs per year.

This indicates a positive outlook for employment in San Diego as we move away from the recession. It is important to note that a significant portion of the job gains in the past month were from leisure and hospitality jobs, which may be seasonal positions. However, as employment increases, an improved economy and confident consumer spending may lead to more stable employment opportunities for San Diego job-seekers. 

*Research summary provided by Tina Ngo, Research Manager, San Diego Workforce Partnership. 

*Photography by Bauman Photographers, San Diego, CA.

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