San Diego County’s jobless rate fell in September as teachers and support staff returned to work but mixed in were heavy losses in retail, construction and tourism.
The region’s unemployment rate was 4.7%, state labor officials said Friday, down from 4.9% the previous month. That compares to a nationwide average of 4% and 5.1% in California.
It is common for jobless claims to fall in September as thousands of support staff across education systems go back to work. At the same time, the summer tourism season winds down, and there are losses spread out across other industries — but that can’t explain all the job cuts.
Leisure and hospitality (hotels, casinos, bars and restaurants) shed 4,000 jobs from August to September, which was about the same as past Septembers, and the same with trade, transportation and utilities (mainly retail) with 1,000. Yet several categories had big cuts that were higher than past years at this time: Financial activities (real estate, insurance, investments) dropped 800 jobs, and information (telecommunications, newspapers, publishing industry) was down by 300.
Other industries to lose jobs from August to September included construction, down by 500; manufacturing, down by 300; and other services (laundry, maintenance, religious), down by 100. Industries to gain jobs were government (mainly education), up by 9,800; private education and health services (nursing, social assistance, private schools and universities), up by 1,200; and professional and business services, up by 200.
Daniel Enemark, chief economist of the San Diego Regional Policy and Innovation Center, said when adjusted for seasonality, the employment picture looks worse. He said it was the slowest job growth for a September, usually a big hiring month, in 17 years.
He said local job numbers reflect contractions at the national level, which he attributed to higher gas prices and tariffs.
“When businesses are paying so much, they aren’t hiring,” Enemark said. “They can only be squeezed so much.”
When adjusted for seasonal swings, San Diego County’s unemployment rate in September was also 4.7%, according to Enemark. That compares to the 4.2% U.S. average jobless rate and 5.1% in California.
He said it wasn’t all bad news. Reversing a trend, San Diego County’s labor force — adults who either have a job or are actively looking for one — was 1.66 million, a rise of 1% in a month. However, it is still down from a peak of 1.68 million in March 2025.
Phil Blair, executive officer of Manpower San Diego, said he was pleased to see the labor force grow but was concerned about the overall jobs picture.
“Losses in construction and manufacturing are typical for September,” he said, “(but) these are two industries that are essential for the majority of San Diegans who don’t have a college degree.”
Unemployed workers may be facing a doubly tough time while looking for work as San Diego County’s inflation rate hit 4.7% in September, which was the second-highest in the nation behind Urban Hawaii at 5.2%.
Who’s hiring?
UC San Diego led local job advertisements in September with 950 open job postings, according to state data that aggregates job postings.
Other companies hiring include Northrop Grumman, with 815; General Atomics, with 751; Qualcomm, with 722; and Scripps Health, with 695.
The profession with the most open job ads was retail salespersons, with 2,060. It was followed by registered nurses, with 1,469 ads; home health and personal care aides, with 1,303; and software developers, with 1,277.
Companies within the city of San Diego had the most open job ads, with 33,314. It was followed by Carlsbad (3,499 ads), Chula Vista (2,487), Escondido (2,365), Oceanside (2,184), El Cajon (1,822), Poway (1,601), San Marcos (1,598), Vista (1,318) and Encinitas (1,044).
The big picture
Over the past 12 months, San Diego County has added 19,900 jobs. That compares to 11,300 at the same time last year and 15,600 in 2024.
The biggest job gainer was private education and health services, up by 14,400 positions. It was followed by leisure and hospitality, up by 5,300; professional and business services, up by 3,200; and other services, which added 2,100.
Smaller gains were in retail, up by 1,100, and manufacturing, up by 100.
The biggest loss was in government, down by 2,400. It was followed by construction, down by 1,700; financial activities, down by 1,200; and information, down by 1,000.
State officials do not seasonally adjust jobless rates for individual counties. Compared with other parts of California, San Diego County was in the middle of the pack of larger counties with its unadjusted rate of 4.7%.
The unemployment rate was 4.5% in Los Angeles County, 4.3% in Orange County, 4% in San Francisco County, 4.2% in Santa Clara County, 5.1% in Santa Cruz County and 5.9% in Riverside County.