Employment & Income
How Are We Doing?
Employment received a thumbs down because the San Diego County unemployment rate rose significantly from 3.0% in the second quarter of 2019 to 14.7% in the second quarter of 2020. Local unemployment is lower than the state but higher than the United States.
Data Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment Statistics, 2020
The Professional and Business Services sector remained the job leader with nearly 260,000 employees. For more information on the industry classifications visit the United States Census Bureau.
Why Are Employment & Income Important?
High quality of life means the region boasts a thriving economy, a healthy environment, and is an equitable place for all San Diegans to grow and prosper.
- Environment: Unemployment has a negative impact on the environment. Facing reduced income, unemployed individuals perceive economic issues as being more important than environmental issues in terms of quality of life.
- Economy: Unemployment has a long lasting negative effect on individuals as well as the entire economy. Mental and physical health problems and decreased purchasing power are just a few examples.
- Equity: Regional economic development depends on closing the educational and employment gap across income and ethnic groups. To stay competitive , San Diego needs to address the high cost of living and also provide opportunities for a diverse workforce. As highlighted by the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, San Diego’s Hispanic population is the largest and fastest growing demographic, yet statistically face barriers to high-skilled and high wage positions in the innovation sector with only 15% holding a bachelor’s degree.
Regional Response
Policies
Recent research by the San Diego Workforce Partnership has highlighted the inextricable link between high quality child care and a strong workforce in San Diego. A 2018 study showed that the need for affordable child care far exceeds the available spots in San Diego. In 2018, a child care subsidy plan, AB 377, expanded eligibility for child care subsidies to account for San Diego’s high cost of living. In response to COVID-19, the City of San Diego City Council approved $10 million in Federal Cares Act funding to provide childcare vouchers for essential workers and the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors approved $35 million Cares Act funding to support child care providers.
Projects
Paving Great Futures is a local nonprofit dedicated to increasing the health and wealth of San Diego’s underserved communities in order for individuals to thrive socially, economically, and politically. They provide comprehensive work experience programs for young adults, people who struggle with substance abuse, and formerly incarcerated persons to develop competencies in entrepreneurship, financial literacy, job readiness, life skills, community service, and civic engagement.
Partnerships
The San Diego Road to Recovery Coalition (RRC), made up of social service, health, education, and housing nonprofits, has emerged in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The coalition is lobbying elected officials to address the regional disparities in how the pandemic is harming low income communities of color. In partnership with SANDAG, the coalition also distributed a countywide survey to better understand the highest needs of the community.
U.S.-Mexico Border Region
Data Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 2019; INEGI, Encuesta Nacional de Ocupación y Empleo, Indicadores estratégicos, 2019
Taking a broader, transnational view, unemployment in Tijuana, Baja California, San Diego, and California continued to decline in 2019 and are all below 2010 levels. A further detailed comparison between US and Mexico unemployment rates is difficult as collection methods and standardization techniques vary between the two jurisdictions.
What Are We Measuring?
We track the quarterly trend in unemployment rates in major urban counties, California, and the U.S. as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Median incomes in the last 12 months are from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The Self Sufficiency Standard is a project of the Center for Women's Welfare housed at the University of Washington. Mexican unemployment data is reported by the Mexican National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía). We also track year-over-year change in employment in major industries and subsectors as defined by the North American Industry Classification System. Learn more about the data.