Department of Numbers

El Centro, California Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for El Centro fell 0.3 percentage points in November 2021 to 16.3%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 9.4 percentage points higher than the California rate. The unemployment rate in El Centro peaked in December 2010 at 30.1% and is now 13.8 percentage points lower. You can also compare El Centro unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate November 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
National 4.2% -0.4 -2.5
California 6.9% -0.4 -1.8
El Centro 16.3% -0.3 -0.4
Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with November 2021 data as December metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: El Centro, California, National

El Centro, California monthly unemployment rate chart

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

El Centro, California Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in El Centro peaked in December 2010 at 23,870. There are now 12,818 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 10,713 in November 2020, the number of unemployed has now grown by 339. El Centro employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in El Centro, California) is also available.

Unemployed Persons November 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
El Centro 11,052 -229 +339

Number of Unemployed Persons

El Centro, California Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate		 California
Unemployment Rate		 El Centro
Unemployment Rate		 El Centro
Unemployed
December
2021		 3.9% — — —
November
2021		 4.2% 6.9% 16.3% 11,052
October
2021		 4.6% 7.3% 16.6% 11,281
September
2021		 4.7% 7.5% 16.8% 11,378
August
2021		 5.2% 7.5% 17.1% 11,527
July
2021		 5.4% 7.6% 17.5% 11,754
June
2021		 5.9% 7.6% 17.7% 11,803
May
2021		 5.8% 7.7% 17.8% 11,790
April
2021		 6.0% 8.0% 18.0% 11,855
March
2021		 6.0% 8.3% 18.1% 11,902
February
2021		 6.2% 8.5% 18.5% 12,131
January
2021		 6.4% 9.0% 18.8% 12,364

1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩

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