Measure description
The Unemployment Rate measures the percentage of total employees in the City & County of San Francisco that are part of the labor force but are without a job. It is one of the most widely followed indicators of the health of the labor market and the local economy as a whole. The Unemployment Rate is a Citywide demand indicator; therefore, no City department is directly responsible for the measure's monthly performance.
Why this measure is important
Reporting on the Unemployment Rate provides the public, elected officials, and City staff with a current snapshot of San Francisco’s labor market.
Unemployment is a critical economic indicator that reflects the health of the City's labor market. The job market is influenced by a number of factors including economic conditions, global and regional competition, education, automation, and demographics.
The interactive chart below presents the four-month rolling average for the City's Unemployment Rate.
The chart's legend is below:
- Y-axis: Unemployment rate percentage
- X-Axis: Months within the Calendar Year
Economy & Finance
Historically, the City & County of San Francisco's Unemployment Rate reached as high as 9.80% in August of 2009 and 13.30% at the peak of COVID. Both of these times were notable recessionary periods. The historical average Unemployment Rate since 2007 is 5.1%.
How performance is measured
The Unemployment Rate is calculated using the following methodology:
Number of unemployed San Franciscans divided by the San Francisco labor force.
Unemployed workers are those who are without current work but have been seeking employment within the last four weeks. After record-high unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City's unemployment rate neared record-lows in 2022 and 2023 as the economy rebounded.
Data
All employment and jobs data comes from the Controller's Office of Economic Analysis. Unemployment Rates are reported with a one to two-month lag. For example, May's data will be available at the end of June.
Additional Information
View more employment data on the San Francisco Economic Recovery Dashboards by OEWD.
View unemployment data from the Controller's Office of Economic Analysis.
City Performance Scorecards
This page is part of the City Performance Scorecards.
Return to the Economy & Finance Scorecard.
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