The unemployment rate in San Francisco ticked down to 5.3 percent in October, the second lowest level since the 5.2 percent rate in June of 2008 when 434,000 people out of a labor force of 457,800 were employed in the city.
The drop in San Francisco’s October unemployment rate, however, was driven by a 4,100 person decrease in the current labor force to 481,900 rather than an increase in employment, with the number of employed in San Francisco dropping by 3,600 as the number of unemployed dropped by 500. That being said, some impact from the Federal shutdown was likely in play.
The number of employed in San Francisco now totals 456,400 which is up by 12,600 workers on a year-over-year basis but is 9,100 workers below a December 2000 dot-com peak at which point the unemployment rate measured 3 percent. The unemployment rate in San Francisco peaked at 10.1 percent in January of 2010 when 48,700 fewer San Francisco residents were employed than today.
The unadjusted unemployment rate in California ticked up to 8.3 percent from September to October as the number of unemployed increased by 7,600 and employment fell by 152,600. The unemployment rate in Marin ticked up by 0.1 points to 4.8 percent while it remained at 5.1 percent in San Mateo.