La Mesa, Mount Helix Unemployment Rates Hover In 5- And 6-Percent Range: EDD

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA — The unemployment rate in San Diego County climbed for the second month in a row, reaching 5.3 percent in July, compared with 5.1 percent the month before, according to the most recent report from the California Employment Development Department.

The region's unemployment had bottomed out at 4.2 percent in May.

San Diego County's rate compared with 5.9 percent statewide and 5.1 percent for the nation as a whole.

In La Mesa specifically, 1,700 of the city's 31,300-member workforce were jobless in July. Of a Casa de Oro, Mount Helix community workforce of 9,900, 600 people were unemployed last month.

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The region lost more than 11,000 nonfarm jobs between June and July, most of them from schools as class broke for the summer, according to EDD data. Those losses were partially offset by gains in arts, entertainment and recreation jobs, as well as hotel and food service hiring. Construction also gained during the month.

Last month, 84,500 San Diegans were jobless out of a civilian labor force of almost 1.6 million people. That's an increase of nearly 20,000 since May, however, the labor force total grew by 36,000 people during the same period.

Here is a breakdown of the unemployment rates in San Diego County, as reported by the EDD:

• San Diego County 5.3%
• Bonita 5.4 %
• Bostonia 6.5%
• Carlsbad 4.8%
• Casa De Oro Mount Helix 6.4%
• Chula Vista 6.7%
• Coronado 3%
• Del Mar 0.5%
• El Cajon 7.6%
• Encinitas 4.3%
• Escondido 5.3%
• Fallbrook 6%
• Imperial Beach 8.2%
• La Mesa 5.4%
• Lakeside 6.2%
• Lemon Grove 7%
• National City 6.7%
• Oceanside 5.4%
• Poway 3.4%
• Ramona 5.9%
• San Diego 5%
• San Marcos 4.1%
• Santee 5.2%
• Solana Beach 4.9%
• Spring Valley 5.5%
• Valley Center 4%
• Vista 4.7%

In the wider view, San Diego County picked up more than 28,000 jobs over the past year.

The agency said the greatest annual job gains were in hotels and food services, around 7,000 positions; government, 5,700; ambulatory health care services, 3,800; and administration, 3,600.

— City News Service contributed to this report. Image via Pixabay.