The unemployment rate in San Diego County last month was 6.8 percent, down from a revised 7.1 percent in October and well below the 8.3 percent recorded in November last year, the state employment department announced today.
The figure is tied with May as the lowest of 2013. The EDD initially reported May's local unemployment to be 6.7 percent, but later revised the rate upward by 0.1 percent.
The EDD reported that California's unemployment rate last month was 8.3 percent, while the nation's was 6.6 percent. Both figures are not seasonally adjusted.
While San Diego's rate decreased, the EDD's figures showed wide swings among various economic sectors between October and November.
Trade, transportation and utilities gained 7,200 positions, mainly from seasonal retail hiring. Government added 2,200 jobs, mostly in education.
However, professional and business services lost 1,300 jobs and leisure and hospitality shed 1,200 positions, primarily in food services, according to the EDD data.
In November, 109,800 San Diegans were without jobs out of a civilian workforce of just over 1.6 million, about 23,000 fewer than in the same month last year.
San Diego County's unemployment rate hasn't dipped below 6.8 percent since October 2008, when it was 6.7 percent. The worst mark during the recession was 10.9 percent, hit in both January and July 2010, according to the agency's data.
