San Diego-Carlsbad, California Unemployment
The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for San Diego rose 1.4 percentage points in December 2020 to 8.2%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.8 percentage points lower than the California rate. The unemployment rate in San Diego peaked in May 2020 at 15.3% and is now 7.1 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 6.8% in November 2020, the unemployment rate has now grown by 1.4 percentage points. You can also compare San Diego unemployment with unemployment in other cities.
| Unemployment Rate | December 2020 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 6.7% | 0.0 | +3.1 |
| California | 9.0% | +0.9 | +5.1 |
| San Diego | 8.2% | +1.4 | +5.2 |
Unemployment Rate: San Diego, California, National
Note: Recessions shown in gray.
San Diego, California Unemployed
The number of people unemployed in San Diego peaked in May 2020 at 238,748. There are now 107,352 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 107,097 in November 2020, the number of unemployed has now grown by 24,299. San Diego employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in San Diego, California) is also available.
| Unemployed Persons | December 2020 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego | 131,396 | +24,299 | +84,035 |
Number of Unemployed Persons
San Diego, California Unemployment History
| Date | National Unemployment Rate |
California Unemployment Rate |
San Diego Unemployment Rate |
San Diego Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2021 |
6.3% | — | — | — |
| December 2020 |
6.7% | 9.0% | 8.2% | 131,396 |
| November 2020 |
6.7% | 8.1% | 6.8% | 107,097 |
| October 2020 |
6.9% | 9.0% | 7.6% | 120,911 |
| September 2020 |
7.8% | 11.1% | 9.1% | 141,552 |
| August 2020 |
8.4% | 11.2% | 9.1% | 140,845 |
| July 2020 |
10.2% | 13.5% | 11.9% | 186,204 |
| June 2020 |
11.1% | 14.9% | 13.5% | 213,346 |
| May 2020 |
13.3% | 16.4% | 15.3% | 238,748 |
| April 2020 |
14.8% | 16.4% | 15.2% | 237,733 |
| March 2020 |
4.4% | 5.5% | 4.1% | 64,284 |
| February 2020 |
3.5% | 3.9% | 3.0% | 48,457 |
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. ↩
Department of Numbers
The Department of Numbers contextualizes public data so that individuals can form independent opinions on everyday social and economic matters.
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