Overall unemployment rate moved down to 6.7% with the biggest shift in Restaurants & Hotels, which lost 12,600 roles, based on the most recently available information published in March 2021.

Total employment in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA market declined by 77,210 jobs in January and the unemployment rate decreased compared to the prior month by 30 bps to 6.7%. The national unemployment rate increased by 31 bps over the same time to 6.8%.

  • San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA unemployment rate is 11 bps below the national rate which is a positive sign.
  • Unemployment in the market is 400 bps above the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a negative.
  • Average wages (per hour) grew in January versus prior month by 7.3% and are down compared to last year at this time in the market.
Month over Month Unemployment Change
Year over Year Unemployment Change
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA Unemployment January 2021

For key employment segments of the market, total jobs declined by -1.9%. Key sectors include:

  • Business Services: 478,100; -6,000
  • Education & Healthcare: 348,600; -5,100
  • Transportation & Utilities: 337,300; -9,200
  • Government: 299,600; -3,600
  • Restaurants & Hotels: 140,700; -12,600
  • Manufacturing: 140,400; -800
  • Financial Services: 138,200; -2,000
  • IT & Development: 132,900; -3,100
  • Construction, Mining: 121,600; +400
  • Other Jobs: 64,800; -1,200
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA Unemployment by Industry January 2021

Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through January 2021 (Data published March 2021 and reports created on March 25, 2021).  Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.

Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.