San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California Unemployment
The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for San Francisco rose 0.1 percentage points in May 2023 to 3.3%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 1.2 percentage points lower than the California rate. The unemployment rate in San Francisco peaked in April 2020 at 14.1% and is now 10.8 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 2.7% in June 2022, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.6 percentage points. You can also compare San Francisco unemployment with unemployment in other cities.
| Unemployment Rate | May 2023 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 3.7% | +0.3 | +0.1 |
| California | 4.5% | 0.0 | +0.5 |
| San Francisco | 3.3% | +0.1 | +0.5 |
Unemployment Rate: San Francisco, California, National
Note: Recessions shown in gray.
San Francisco, California Unemployed
The number of people unemployed in San Francisco peaked in April 2020 at 349,198. There are now 263,839 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 68,431 in July 2022, the number of unemployed has now grown by 16,928. San Francisco employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in San Francisco, California) is also available.
| Unemployed Persons | May 2023 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 85,359 | +3,031 | +14,128 |
Number of Unemployed Persons
San Francisco, California Unemployment History
| Date | National Unemployment Rate |
California Unemployment Rate |
San Francisco Unemployment Rate |
San Francisco Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2023 |
3.6% | — | — | — |
| May 2023 |
3.7% | 4.5% | 3.3% | 85,359 |
| April 2023 |
3.4% | 4.5% | 3.2% | 82,328 |
| March 2023 |
3.5% | 4.4% | 3.1% | 80,287 |
| February 2023 |
3.6% | 4.4% | 3.0% | 77,737 |
| January 2023 |
3.4% | 4.2% | 2.9% | 74,721 |
| December 2022 |
3.5% | 4.1% | 2.9% | 72,808 |
| November 2022 |
3.6% | 4.1% | 2.9% | 72,875 |
| October 2022 |
3.7% | 4.1% | 2.8% | 72,405 |
| September 2022 |
3.5% | 4.0% | 2.8% | 71,025 |
| August 2022 |
3.7% | 3.8% | 2.7% | 69,462 |
| July 2022 |
3.5% | 3.8% | 2.7% | 68,431 |
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.
