San Diego unemployment rate rises to a level not seen since 2021

As seen in The San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego’s unemployment rate hit a level in July not seen since 2021 with losses in construction and professional services, as well as sluggish growth in other sectors.

The region’s unemployment rate was 5.2%, state labor officials said Friday, up from 4.9% the previous month. It marks the highest unemployment rate in San Diego County since September 2021.

San Diego isn’t alone in rising jobless numbers, with the nationwide rate up in July to 4.6%, and in California to 6.1%. National job numbers were bad enough that President Donald Trump fired the head of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, worrying experts. California’s Employment Development Department does use federal data but also conducts its own surveys and analysis.

A large part of San Diego’s July report can be chalked up to seasonality, with almost all job losses — 17,200 — to teachers off for summer break. Still, other sectors were down from June to July: Construction shed 400 positions, and there were 900 job cuts in professional and business services, which includes work in legal, scientific, waste management and architectural fields.

When adjusted for seasonality, the San Diego County unemployment rate was closer to 4.8%, said Daniel Enemark, chief economist at the San Diego Regional Policy & Innovation Center. That compares with the 4.2% U.S. average and 5.5% in California.

“The seasonally adjusted rate has increased every month since March,” Enemark said. “June and July usually see unemployment increase in San Diego, but this June was the worst surge on record, and this July was worse than average as well.”