For the fifth year in a row, San Diego has boasted healthy job growth. In fact, according to the California Employment Development Department, the city’s unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent in December from 4.3 percent in November and 4.8 percent earlier in 2016. The numbers are impressive and far below California’s overall 5.2 percent unemployment rate.
“This marked the fifth consecutive year of job increases of around 30,000 or more,” Lynn Reaser, Chief Economist at the Fermanian Business & Economic Institute at Point Loma University, told the San Diego Tribune.
The low unemployment rate is a clear indicator that San Diego’s economy is doing well. In fact, lately, economists have argued that a 4 percent unemployment rate is a great boost for employee wages without causing dangerous price inflation in goods, services and housing. And the good news is that hiring has remained strong in San Diego.
Throughout 2016, San Diego created 28,900 more jobs than they eliminated, which was more than enough to “absorb the 11,100 people who joined the civilian labor force over the year.”
As for which employment sectors experienced the most gains—it affected nearly every major industry.
- Government jobs: 6,300 added
- Education and Health jobs: 5,700 added
- Professional and Business jobs: 5,500 added
- Trade, Transportation, and Utilities jobs: 2,500 added
- Financial jobs: 2,200 added
- Construction jobs: 400 added
In fact, the only industry to lose jobs was manufacturing, which ended up cutting 1,600 more jobs than they added over the year.
As for 2017, the future still looks bright. San Diego’s economy has started out the year with the same modest job growth and robust labor market as it ended 2015. “At this juncture, 2017 looks to be another year of solid job gains for the region with a further dip in the unemployment rate,” Reaser said. “The tightening of the labor market will leave employers short of key skills ranging from engineering to construction trades, while employees can look forward to larger raises.”