San Diego-Carlsbad, California Unemployment
The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for San Diego rose 0.1 percentage points in September 2023 to 3.9%. 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 April 2020 at 16.4% and is now 12.5 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 3.2% in June 2022, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.7 percentage points. You can also compare San Diego unemployment with unemployment in other cities.
| Unemployment Rate | September 2023 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 3.8% | 0.0 | +0.3 |
| California | 4.7% | +0.1 | +0.7 |
| San Diego | 3.9% | +0.1 | +0.7 |
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 April 2020 at 251,531. There are now 189,700 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 50,227 in July 2022, the number of unemployed has now grown by 11,604. San Diego employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in San Diego, California) is also available.
| Unemployed Persons | September 2023 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego | 61,831 | +1,562 | +10,561 |
Number of Unemployed Persons
San Diego, California Unemployment History
| Date | National Unemployment Rate |
California Unemployment Rate |
San Diego Unemployment Rate |
San Diego Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2023 |
3.9% | 4.8% | — | — |
| September 2023 |
3.8% | 4.7% | 3.9% | 61,831 |
| August 2023 |
3.8% | 4.6% | 3.8% | 60,269 |
| July 2023 |
3.5% | 4.6% | 3.7% | 59,150 |
| June 2023 |
3.6% | 4.6% | 3.7% | 59,001 |
| May 2023 |
3.7% | 4.5% | 3.6% | 58,145 |
| April 2023 |
3.4% | 4.5% | 3.5% | 56,432 |
| March 2023 |
3.5% | 4.4% | 3.5% | 55,502 |
| February 2023 |
3.6% | 4.4% | 3.4% | 53,982 |
| January 2023 |
3.4% | 4.2% | 3.3% | 52,575 |
| December 2022 |
3.5% | 4.1% | 3.3% | 52,040 |
| November 2022 |
3.6% | 4.1% | 3.3% | 52,072 |
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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