The unemployment rate in San Diego County last month was 5 percent, edging up from 4.9 percent the month before but way below the 6.4 percent rate recorded a year ago, the state Employment Development Department announced Friday.
The unemployment rate statewide last month was 6.2 percent, and 5.5 percent nationwide. Neither figure is seasonally adjusted.
Local government added 1,500 jobs last month, while manufacturing added 1,000 positions, according to the agency's data. Over the past year, healthy job gains have been seen in professional, scientific and technical services; and health care and social assistance.
More than 78,000 San Diegans were unemployed last month, out of a workforce of nearly 1.6 million people. The number without jobs was more than 20,000 fewer than June 2014.
"The region's labor force continues to grow substantially as jobs are being added at a very solid pace," said Phil Blair of Manpower San Diego, an employment firm. "Despite a slight climb in the unemployment rate, all signs point to a positive economic picture for the region going forward."
He said the uptick stemmed from summertime job losses in education and was actually smaller than normal. The private sector economy in San Diego grew at a rate of 3.2 percent over the past year, and accounted for 90 percent of the jobs created during that time, Blair said.
