Updated at Friday, 3:57 P.M. Dec. 16
The unemployment rate in San Diego County was 4.3 percent last month, down from a revised 4.7 percent the month before, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.
The November rate was just 0.1 percent above the post-recession low of 4.2 percent recorded in May. In November last year, the rate was 5 percent in the San Diego region.
The rate last month was 5 percent statewide and 4.4 percent across the U.S. Neither the California nor national figures are seasonally adjusted.
According to the EDD, seasonal gains of 5,200 retail trade jobs were seen in San Diego County in November, along with a pick-up of 1,700 positions in food service and drinking establishments, 1,300 positions in local government education, and 1,000 in transportation.
In the year since November 2015, the biggest employment pickups were in hotels and food services, up 6,600 jobs; restaurants, 5,300; local government, 4,300; and ambulatory health care services, 2,600.
The manufacturing sector lost 900 jobs locally over the past year, the agency reported.
“Retail is healthy because of a strong holiday season and there is growth in education jobs in local and state government,” said Phil Blair, CEO of Manpower Staffing in San Diego. “With that said, on my mind is how the new administration can change things drastically. The next quarter’s hiring trends will be very telling.”
Last month, 69,500 San Diegans were unemployed out of a civilian labor force of nearly 1.6 million workers. The number of unemployed was around 8,400 fewer than the same period last year.
—City News Service
