SD job growth at a 2-year high

San Diego County’s unemployment rate ticked up from May to June, but that couldn’t stop its annual payroll job growth from rising to a two-year high, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.

The county’s unemployment rate rose from 5.8 percent in May to 6.1 percent in June, not adjusted for seasonal factors such as college and high school students entering the workforce. Last month, tourism hiring accounted for 3,000 of the total 9,700 jobs added, likely part of the peak summer season.

Over the last year, however, the high-paying professional, scientific and technical services field, which includes biotech, led the growth by adding 6,800 people to payrolls, while the construction field grew by 5,200 workers, a sign of increasing middle-class jobs.

“San Diego’s job market bolted ahead in June with a sizable and widespread increase in jobs,” said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Point Loma Nazarene University. “Job gains took place in most industries last month, with the exception of education as the school year ended. The advance in construction was particularly impressive.”

In all, county employers have added 34,600 jobs in the last 12 months, the most in an annual stretch since October 2012. Annually, San Diego County’s job growth is at 2.6 percent, second best in Southern California behind the Inland Empire. The county is also outpacing the state’s 2.4 percent year-over-year job growth and the nation’s 1.8 percent clip.

“The economy is doing much better,” said Esmael Adibi, economist at Chapman University. “Consumers are showing resiliency, they’re spending, business investment is picking up, the export market is respectable, so all over the improvement is there, you see it on every front.”

Alan Gin, economist at the University of San Diego, said if the county keeps up the annual current hiring pace that 2014 would be the best year for job growth since 2000, when employers added 40,100 jobs. Adjusted for seasonality, such as summer hiring, he said the county’s unemployment rate fell from 6.1 percent in May to 5.8 percent in June. Gin said for the job market to be fully recovered, it would have to fall below 5 percent, which he sees happening next year.

The state reports that the county added 4,000 jobs from May to June when accounting for seasonality.

“There’s just a lot of momentum now behind the economy,” Gin said. “It tends to feed into itself as people get jobs they get more income, they’re going to spend it, businesses are going to pick up, they’re going to hire more people and the cycle just keeps repeating itself.”

Since June 2013, the county unemployment rate has dropped from 7.8 percent, and the number of unemployed persons in the county has fallen by 22.9 percent to 96,500 people. The labor force, however, declined by 0.3 percent over the year to 1.59 million people, pushing the unemployment rate down for reasons other than job growth.

Adibi said there is big debate among economists as to the reason for the drops, but noted that baby boomers are retiring, long-term disability filings are up, taking people out of the labor force, and also that some people who lost their jobs during the recession haven’t been able to get rehired due to a skills gap.

Gin said as news of the improving job market spreads, more people should enter the labor force.

Statewide, California’s unemployment rate fell in June, reaching a seasonally adjusted 7.4 percent. It’s the lowest rate in six years, and the state’s jobless rate remains above the national average of 6.1 percent. The last time the state’s unemployment rate fell below 7.4 percent was in July 2008.

California gained 24,200 jobs during the month.

Education and health services posted the largest increases, adding a total of 12,200 jobs for the month, while construction posted the biggest loss, with 9,500 fewer jobs.