Issue: Can We Breathe Easier with County Jobless Rate at 6.7 Percent?

The county’s jobless rate continued heading in the right direction last month, falling to 6.7 percent—down from a revised 7 percent in April and below the estimate of 8.8 percent in May 2012, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.

The statewide unemployment rate was 8.1 in May and was 7.3 percent nationwide, according to the agency. 

San Diego County’s largest jobs gain between April and May was in the leisure and hospitality industry, which added 3,300 positions, the state said. But about 500 positions were lost in the education and health services sector, according to the state. Losses were also reported in the information and manufacturing sectors.

Some 108,000 San Diegans were out of work last month out of a civilian labor force of more than 1.6 million. For those people—and many of the underemployed—the crisis continues.

Still, are these numbers encouraging? Do they grow confidence in the future?  Or will a cloud remain over our economic fate?  Can anything more be done to speed the recovery?  Share your thoughts in the comments.

—City News Service contributed to this report.