The year 2011 was a positive one for San Diego employment. The number of local jobs rose in absolute terms…
…but the more important seasonally-adjusted data shows that employment rose even when accounting for holiday hiring:
The red line in the above graph shows that employment rose rather steadily in 2011, with the job recovery picking up the pace a bit in the latter half of the year.
Overall employment rose by 2.2 percent on a year-over-year basis, which is the annual highest rate of job growth since the recession began:
In fact, this was the highest annual job growth that the region has seen since the dot-com boom. This pace will need to continue for a while, however, in order for the region to recapture peak employment levels any time soon:
This last graph sums up the situation nicely: the San Diego job market enjoyed some brisk growth in 2011, but there is still a way to go before we are fully recovered from the 2008-2009 employment swan dive.
Rich Toscano is a financial advisor with Pacific Capital Associates*. He can be contacted at rtoscano@pcasd.com.