Employment & Income
How Are We Doing?
Employment received a thumbs down because although the San Diego County unemployment rate decreased significantly from 15.9% in the first quarter of 2020 to 8% in the fourth quarter 2020, it is still at its highest level since 2013. Local unemployment is lower than the state but higher than the United States.
The unemployment rate in San Diego County in the second quarter of 2020 was 4.8 percentage points higher than it was during the peak of the recession in 2010. The COVID-19 pandemic led to hundreds of thousands of lost jobs across the region, but unemployment is steadily recovering towards pre-COVID levels.
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 and a healthy environment accessible to all in the community.
- 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 $25 million CARES Act funding to support child care providers. More than 3,300 childcare providers were aided, helping to support 81,000 children in 90 zip codes across San Diego County.
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. Funded by the United Way of San Diego County, the San Diego Worker Assistance Initiative is supporting low-wage workers and their families whose incomes have been negatively impacted.
Partnerships
In response to the volatile job market during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Leaders 20/20 young professionals network partnered with Sage Business & Education, a business consultancy with over ten years of experience, to host a workforce development series on topics such as elevator pitches, interview skills, and resume building.
U.S.-Mexico Border Region
Taking a broader, transnational view, unemployment in Tijuana, Baja California, San Diego, and California continued to decline in 2019 and were all below 2010 levels up until the COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment rate continues to decrease in Tijuana and Baja California, unaffected by the coronavirus crisis. This is due to the medical and “maquiladora” industries being the most predominant sector in employment, some of which did not stop production. “Maquiladoras” refers to foreign-owned factories or manufacturing operations in Mexico that export its products to the country that owns the operation. 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.