San Diego’s unemployment rate dropped again in December to 2.5 percent, nearing a historic low.
The rate nearly equaled the 2.3 percent last reached in 1956 when the region was in the midst of a postwar economic boom, according to the state’s Employment Development Department.
These days, the jobs being added may not be as comparatively high-paying, but create a climate of practically full employment.
Total nonfarm employment in the region reached 1,139,000, with the biggest monthly gain in jobs coming from 1,900 temporary jobs in the retail trade for the holiday shopping season.
Compared with December 1998, the area’s nonfarm jobs increased by 16,100, according to EDD.
However, the annual job gain will likely exceed 30,000 once the EDD obtains all the reports from smaller employers, said Kelly Cunningham, director of the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Research Bureau.
The two largest contributors to the new jobs were from services, which added 6,500 jobs, and from government, which added 4,700 jobs.
The region’s unemployment rate compared favorably to the state’s rate of 4.6 percent and 3.7 percent for the nation.
