Unemployment in San Diego Hits 10.1 Percent

San Diego had 69,900 unemployed residents in February as the city jobless rate hit 10.1 percent, according to state data released Friday.

The state puts San Diego’s labor force at 693,500 with 623,600 employed and 69,900 unemployed.

San Diego had the same jobless rate as the county, according to the state Employment Development Department. National City had the highest unemployment rate at 19.1 percent followed by 16 percent in Imperial Beach. The lowest rates were 5.3 unemployed in Del Mar, 6 percent in Poway and 6.7 percent in Carlsbad.

California's February seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 12.2 percent, down slightly from 12.4 percent in January, according to the department. Nationally, the unemployment rate for February was 8.9 percent.

In the county, agricultural employment gained 500 jobs over the month, said the state. Professional and business services reported the greatest month-over-month gain, adding 1,800 jobs. Other areas reporting gains were leisure and hospitality, educational and health services, and government.

Sectors that reported declines included trade, transportation, utilities, manufacturing and construction.

For complete state data, see the PDF.

La Mesa Patch Editor Ken Stone contributed to this report.