A couple questions came in recently to our People’s Reporter page, a tool that allows readers to submit questions about how the region works. Here are two good ones that can be answered quickly:
“I’d like to know how many people work in the city of San Diego … Not just government workers … all workers.”
— Keith H.
There are 709,400 people employed in the city of San Diego, according to the Employment Development Department.
The city’s population is 1.42 million, according to the U.S. Census. So about half of the people living in San Diego are employed, or count as workers. This number is different, however, from the city’s unemployment rate. It’s important to keep in mind that not every San Diegan can work, as the population includes children, and those who are disabled, retired or otherwise ineligible to work.
“How can I research who is giving money to which politician, and how much?”
— Louis Rodolico
Here are a few handy resources:
- The California secretary of state has a great database called Cal-Access.
- Opensecrets.org keeps track of federal campaign contributions and lobbying data.
- inewsource maintains a county campaign finance database.
- The city and county of San Diego have electronic filing systems, too.
People’s Reporter segment featured in the VOSD Podcast:
If you have a question about San Diego and are itching for an answer, submit it below.