In San Diego County, unemployment rose at the start of the summer as teachers were on summer vacation.
State labor officials said Friday that the unemployment rate was 4.5% in June, down from a revised 3.7% in May. That’s higher than the national average of 4.3% but lower than California’s 5.3%.
Rising unemployment claims are common and expected as teachers take summer vacation, and job openings across all fields not related to education increased in June.
The largest job gain was in leisure and hospitality, adding 1,900 jobs, as workers were needed ahead of San Diego’s peak tourist season and its biggest events, San Diego Pride and San Diego Comic-Con International.
Adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, the unemployment rate is closer to 4.2%, according to Beacon Economics. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in May was 4.1%, and in April it was 4.4%. San Diego’s June unemployment rate of 4.2% was higher than the seasonally adjusted national average of 4.1% but lower than California’s 5.2%.
San Diego County’s labor force (adults who are employed or actively looking for work) remains sluggish: The labor force is roughly the same as last month at 1.58 million, but is down 7,700 from the same time last year.
“California continues to struggle with labor supply, despite adding 7,200 workers in June,” wrote Justin Niakamal, regional research manager at Beacon Economics. “Since February 2020, the state’s labor force has fallen by 246,200 people, a 1.3% decline.”
In San Diego County, the government sector, primarily responsible for education, saw the largest job losses between May and June, with 1,200 jobs, followed by the private education and health services sector, which includes private school employment, with a loss of 1,100 jobs.
In addition to the tourism hiring boom, it was a big month for other industries as well. Trade, transport and public works (retail and warehousing) added 1,000 jobs, construction added 800, manufacturing added 500 and professional and business services (legal, scientific, waste management and architecture) added 500 jobs.
Phil Blair, executive director of staffing firm Manpower San Diego, said the labor shortage problem may have to do with people leaving the workforce due to the rising cost of living, as more and more people are calling offices wanting to return to work.
Blair said one of the largest groups looking for work are older people who left their jobs during the pandemic – some of them because they don’t have as much money as they thought they would when they retired, or because they’re simply bored. Another group are families who decided to move out on their own during the pandemic but now need more money.
Blair said it’s a common situation for stay-at-home moms to look for part-time work and then transition to full-time work.
He said the increase in the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 hasn’t made it harder for them to hire office workers who make the same amount or less.
“Fast food doesn’t have a very good reputation,” Blair says. “The hours can be four hours in the morning and four hours at night, full shifts and no great benefits, whereas a lot of temporary office jobs lead to full-time work and great benefits.”
According to state data tallying job listings for the month, retail sales associates had the most job openings in June with 2,312, followed by registered nurses with 2,194, first-line retail employee supervisors with 1,149 and customer service representatives with 1,112.
The top employers by number of job openings were University of California, San Diego, Sharp Healthcare, Scripps Health, Apple and General Atomics.
San Diego County added 8,900 jobs on an annual basis, with the largest number being in private education and health services (including nursing and private school employment) at 12,000.
Other sectors with big increases were government (3,600), tourism (3,500), construction (1,600) and services (laundry, maintenance and religion) (1,600).
The biggest job losses were in the higher paying professional and business services sector (law, science, waste management, construction) – 8,200 jobs. Other job losses were in manufacturing (-3,900), information (broadcasting, communications, newspapers) (-1,200) and financial activities (real estate, insurance, investments) (-1,100).
An analysis by Beacon Economics found that California’s unemployment rate, the highest in the nation, is due to an increase in jobless claims among people under the age of 34. For example, the unemployment rate for 16-19 year-olds was 19.2% in the first quarter of this year, compared with the national average of 11.9%.
State officials don’t seasonally adjust county unemployment rates. Compared to the rest of California, San Diego County’s unadjusted rate of 4.5% was in the middle range.
The rates were 5.9 percent in Los Angeles County, 4 percent in Orange County, 3.6 percent in San Francisco County, 4.1 percent in Santa Clara County, 5.6 percent in Santa Cruz County, and 5.4 percent in Riverside County.
First published: July 19, 2024, 2:37 PM
