Unemployment Rate in San Diego County Is Lowest in 6 Years

The unemployment rate in San Diego County last month was 6 percent, the lowest figure in nearly six years, the state Employment Development Department announced today.

Unemployment in the region was down sharply from a revised 6.9 percent in March and below the 7.2 percent recorded in April 2013, according to the EDD.

The local April figure compares to 7.3 percent for California and 5.9 percent for the U.S. The state and federal numbers are not seasonally adjusted.

The leisure and hospitality sector gained 3,100 jobs over the past month, with positions added in the hospitality, food services, drinking establishments, arts, entertainment and recreation areas, according to the EDD.

Retail and wholesale trade added another 2,000 jobs, the agency reported.

An estimated 95,300 San Diegans were out of work in April, from a workforce of nearly 1.6 million.

The number of jobless in the region has dropped by 16.7 percent over the past year, while the size of the workforce has dropped by 0.2 percent.

—City News Service