March data showed that San Diego experienced a year-to-year decrease in job listings over the last month. Economist believe that the area’s suffering housing market has ultimately caused the significantly loss of jobs. This is the first time in 15 years that San Diego jobs have decreased over the course of a year.
According to recent data released by the California Employment Development Department, employers cut 1,700 San Diego jobs from March 2007 to March 2008. Over the last month the employment rate jumped from 5.0 percent in February to 5.3 percent in March. In the same month, a year prior, the area jobless rate was only 4.2 percent.
Many area economists believe that the decrease in available San Diego jobs and the rise in unemployment have increased the city’s chances of going into a locally based recession. Nevertheless, they are holding out hope that the negative situation currently experienced by the San Diego job market will not continue for long.
Over the last year, 12,000 California jobs have been lost. This caused the statewide unemployment rate to jump from 5.7 percent in February to 6.2 percent in March. This is the larges monthly increase since 1976. As of last year this time the California jobless rate was at 5.0 percent.
Most of the San Diego jobs added between February and March were only seasonal position, the result of area employers in the leisure and hospitality industry bulking up their staff numbers to handle the influx of business brought on by spring break. With seasonal influences taken into account, the remaining increase in San Diego jobs is actually less promising. Only 600 positions are expected to last past the next few months, according to Christopher Thornberg, and economist at Los Angeles based Beacon Economics.
Recent data shows that the state’s year-to-year losses in employment were mainly in industries that are related to the obviously distressed housing market. Approximately 9,100 jobs were cut in construction and 5,700 position in financial activities. A large part of the latter effected those who worked in at real estate firms and mortgage brokerages. Another 1,200 jobs were done away with in manufacturing and 900 more California jobs in retail.
Statewide employment increased in hospitals, schools, law offices, laboratories, bars and restaurants. Nevertheless, this month was the first time since the housing market predicament began that the online jobs being done away in real estate outnumbered the hiring of other industries.
