San Diego jobless rate rises as teachers go on break, but tourism hiring continues –

San Diego County’s jobless rate rose at the start of summer as teachers went on break.

The unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in June, down from a revised 3.7 percent in May, state labor officials said Friday. It was higher than the national rate of 4.3 percent but lower than California at 5.3 percent.

Higher jobless claims this time of year are common, and expected, as teachers go on summer break. June saw jobs added in every category not related to education.

The biggest job gainer was leisure and hospitality with 1,900. Workers were needed as the peak of San Diego’s tourism season kicked off and ahead of its biggest events, San Diego Pride and San Diego Comic-Con International.

When adjusted for seasonal swings, the unemployment rate was closer to 4.2 percent, said Beacon Economics. That compares to seasonally adjusted rates of 4.1 percent in May and 4.4 percent in April. San Diego’s June rate of 4.2 percent was higher than the seasonal national average of 4.1 percent but lower than 5.2 percent in California.

San Diego County’s labor force — adults who either have a job or are actively looking for one — has remained sluggish.  The labor force stayed about the same month-to-month at 1.58 million people but is down by 7,700 people since the same time last year.

“California continues to struggle with its labor supply, although its workforce grew by 7,200 in June,” wrote Justin Niakamal, regional research manager at Beacon Economics. “Since February 2020, the state’s labor force has declined by 246,200 workers, a 1.3 percent  drop.”

The biggest San Diego County losses from May to June were in government, which is mainly education, at 1,200. It was followed by private education and health services, which includes jobs at private schools, down by 1,100 positions.

In addition to the surge in tourism hiring, it was a big month for other industries. Trade, transportation and utilities (retail and warehousing) added 1,000 jobs; Construction added 800; Manufacturing added 500 jobs; and professional and business services (legal, scientific, waste management, architectural) added 500.

Phil Blair, executive officer of staffing agency Manpower San Diego, said labor force woes might have more to do with people leaving as a result of the cost of living — because he keeps getting more and more people calling his office to rejoin the workforce.

Blair said seniors who retired during COVID-19 is one of his biggest groups looking for work. He said some have found they didn’t have as much money to retire as they thought or are simply bored. The other group, he said, are families who decided to try a one-income household during the pandemic but now need more money.

Blair said a common situation is a stay-at-home mom looking for part-time work and then transitioning into full-time jobs.

He said the increase to $20 minimum wage for fast food workers has not made recruiting difficult for office jobs that pay around the same or less.

“Fast food doesn’t have a very good reputation,” Blair said. “Sometimes schedules are four hours in the morning, four hours at night. It’s typically not a full shift with good benefits. Whereas, many temp office jobs lead to full-time work and have great benefits.”

The most job openings in June were for retail salespersons, according to state data that aggregates job postings during the month. There were 2,312 job postings for retail people, followed by posts for registered nurses with 2,194, first-line supervisors of retail workers with 1,149, and customer service representatives with 1,112.

The top employers, by job postings, were UC San Diego, Sharp Healthcare, Scripps Health, Apple and General Atomics.

On an annual basis, San Diego County has added 8,900 jobs, with the most in private education and health services (which includes nursing as well as private school jobs) at 12,000.

Other industries with big gains were government, with 3,600;  tourism, with 3,500; construction, with 1,600; and services (laundry, maintenance, religious), also with 1,600.

The biggest loss was in the high-paying professional and business services category (legal, scientific, waste management, architectural) with 8,200. Other job losses were in manufacturing, losing 3,900 positions; Information (broadcasting, telecommunications, newspapers), down by 1,200; and financial activities (real estate, insurance, investments), down by 1,100.

An analysis by Beacon Economics said California’s highest-in-the-nation unemployment has been led by a growth in jobless claims for people 34 years old and younger. For example, it said the unemployment rate for 16 to 19 year olds was 19.2 percent in the first quarter of this year, compared to 11.9 for the nation.

State officials do not seasonally adjust jobless rates for individual counties. Compared with other parts of California, San Diego County was in the middle of the pack with its unadjusted rate of 4.5 percent.

The rate was 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.

Originally Published: July 19, 2024 at 2:37 p.m.