San Luis Obispo County’s unemployment rate fails to show lost jobs

November 15, 2024

By KAREN VELIE

In the past two months, there are 600 fewer people employed in San Luis Obispo County. At the same time, unemployment numbers have dropped because of a declining workforce, the state Employment Development Department announced Friday.

Prior to the pandemic, in Jan. 2020, there were 141,300 people in the SLO County workforce with 136,900 employed, according to the state. By Aug. 2024, those numbers had dropped to 135,700 people in the workforce and 129,700 employed, resulting in a 4.4% unemployment rate.

In Sept. 2024, the unemployment rate fell to 4% even though 500 fewer people were employed in SLO County. The state reported there were 134,600 people in the county workforce and 129,200 employed.

In Oct. 2024, there were 134,400 people in the workforce and 129,100 employed and the unemployment rate remained at 4%. So, even though there were 100 fewer people employed during September in SLO County, there were 200 fewer people in the labor force which resulted in no change in unemployment numbers.

San Luis Obispo County is ranked fifth out of 58 California counties for lower numbers of unemployed workers. SLO County’s unemployment rate is lower than the national average of 3.9% and the state’s 5.4% rate.

In California, San Mateo at 3.6% has the lowest unemployment rate and Imperial County comes in on the bottom with an unemployment rate of 19.6%.