Reports
Retail Industry: Labor Market Analysis
The retail industry sector employs approximately 286,100 workers, making up 19.2% of all jobs in San Diego County. In addition to its considerable impact on local jobs, sales tax revenue and quality of life in San Diego County, retail also plays a critical role in developing essential skills in the region’s workforce and introducing young people to the world of work. This report analyzes the retail labor market and its opportunities for career advancement.
Download the report (5 MB)
Specialty Foods and Brews: Labor Market Analysis
One of the San Diego Workforce Partnership’s Priority Sectors, San Diego’s Specialty Foods & Brews sector encompasses the region’s strong brewery, beverage and food culture. This report serves to inform the workforce development system on how to best prepare the future workforce for these two subsectors, analyzing workforce needs and opportunities in the industry, including hiring challenges and skills in demand from Specialty Foods & Brews employers.
Download the report (5 MB)
Blue Economy: Labor Market Analysis
San Diego’s Blue Economy encompasses Blue Technology or “BlueTech” jobs, referring to technologically-advanced activities and methods to solve water-related issues, and traditional maritime occupations that increasingly incorporate BlueTech into their work. This report serves to inform the workforce development system on how to better prepare the future workforce by analyzing job growth, hiring challenges and skills in demand from Blue Economy employers.
Download the report (10 MB)
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeship programs are industry-focused, employer-sponsored training programs that provide both theoretical classroom instruction and on-the-job training and work experience. Nationally, 87 percent of apprentices obtain employment after program completion, with an average starting salary of $50,000. This report looks at current and emerging apprenticeship programs in San Diego County and across the nation.
Download the report (5 MB)
The Gig Economy
The “Gig Economy” is one of many terms that describe the current nature of the contingent, or self-employed, workforce. The Gig Economy includes the wide use of technology to find “gigs” or short-term jobs in which self-employed workers respond to on-demand calls of customers. This special report examines this emerging trend and its impact on San Diego’s regional workforce.
Download the report (5 MB)
Priority Sectors: Workforce Initiatives in San Diego County
Please note this information has been updated. Please refer to the latest priority sector information available at workforce.org/reports or workforce.org/posters.
Priority Sectors: Workforce Initiatives in San Diego County is a follow-up study to our 2014 priority sector reports and analyzes 492 active initiatives in the region addressing workforce challenges presented in the previous research, including an inventory of initiatives related to the five priority sectors.
Download the report (1 MB)
Download the executive summary (800 KB)
San Diego’s Middle-Skill Jobs: Gaps and Opportunities
San Diego’s Middle-Skill Jobs: Gaps and Opportunities analyzes the challenges and opportunities presented in more than 600,000 occupations that are considered “middle-skill,” or those that require more than a high school diploma, but less than a four-year degree. The study focuses on three sectors that make up a majority of the middle-skill jobs in the region: Advanced Manufacturing, Health Care, and Information and Communication Technologies.
Download the report (5 MB)
Workforce Needs of Small Businesses in San Diego
Workforce Needs of Small Businesses in San Diego analyzes the survey results from 347 small businesses across San Diego County’s Priority Sectors. The study focuses on growth over the next 12 months, the challenges that small businesses expect to face in the future, skills necessary to start a small business, and workshops that are useful for workers in businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
Download the report (2 MB)
Download the executive summary (1 MB)
Download the Advanced Manufacturing sector brief (400 KB)
Download the Advanced Transportation sector brief (400 KB)
Download the Global Trade sector brief (500 KB)
Download the Health Care sector brief (400 KB)
Download the Information & Communication Technologies sector brief (400 KB)
Download the Life Sciences/Biotechnology sector brief (400 KB)
Aerospace: San Diego Labor Market Analysis
Aerospace: Labor Market Analysis is a study of a subsector of Advanced Manufacturing. This report analyzes four areas vital to the aerospace industry: R&D and testing laboratories, aerospace products and parts, instruments and components, and support activities. The study focuses on emerging opportunities in the aerospace industry, the types of knowledge and skills that are in demand, and how employers and educators can promote industry growth.
Download the report (3 MB)
Priority Sector Posters
Please note this information has been updated. Please refer to the latest priority sector information available at workforce.org/reports or workforce.org/posters. We ask that you not reproduce or distribute the below as they contain outdated information.
The priority sector posters highlight career pathways within San Diego’s five priority sectors: Advanced manufacturing, clean energy, health care, information & communication technologies, and life sciences. Each poster includes information about the top jobs, education and skill requirements, and median wages presented in a digestible one-sheet, designed for students in grades K–12. These posters can be printed at 12×18″ or 24×36″.
Download print-ready files (PDF) of all the posters in English (32 MB)
Download print-ready files (PDF) of all the posters in Spanish (32 MB)
Download print-ready files (PDF) of Advanced Manufacturing in English (7 MB)
Download print-ready files (PDF) of Clean Energy in English (4 MB)
Download print-ready files (PDF) of Health Care in English (8 MB)
Download print-ready files (PDF) of Information and Communication Technologies in English (6 MB)
Download print-ready files (PDF) of Life Sciences in English (9 MB)
Download print-ready files (PDF) of Advanced Manufacturing in Spanish (7 MB)
Download print-ready files (PDF) of Clean Energy in Spanish (4 MB)
Download print-ready files (PDF) of Health Care in Spanish (8 MB)
Download print-ready files (PDF) of Information and Communication Technologies in Spanish (6 MB)
Download print-ready files (PDF) of Life Sciences in Spanish (9 MB)