Every quarter San Diego Regional EDC analyzes key economic indicators that are important to understanding the regional economy and the region’s standing relative to the 25 most populous metropolitan areas in the U.S. This issue covers data from Q2 2018.
Following seasonal declines in employment during Q1, San Diego, and the overwhelming majority of the most populous metros, experienced an increase in employment during Q2 2018. Welcoming recent graduates and ramping up for the summer season, the region added 16,500 jobs – a 1.1 percent increase in employment during the quarter. Compared to a year ago, nonfarm employment was up 22,500 jobs, or 1.5 percent.
San Diego’s unemployment rate remained below that state and national rates of 4.5 and 4.2 percent, respectively.
Key findings from the snapshot:
When compared to its regional neighbors, San Diego’s unemployment rate continued to fare better than both Riverside (4.7 percent) and Los Angeles (4.5 percent).
With the summer tourist season approaching, the leisure and hospitality sector recorded the largest quarterly gain, adding 6,300 jobs during Q2.
Year-over-year, the region’s median home price continued to climb, growing by 6.6 percent.
Compared to the same period a year ago, VC investment in the region has more than doubled.
The Quarterly Economic Snapshot analyzes key economic indicators that are important to understanding the regional economy and the region’s standing relative to the 25 most populous metropolitan areas in the U.S. This releases includes data from April to June (Q2) 2018.
Last week, EDC welcomed a group of next-gen life sciences leaders to San Diego for an exclusive tour of the region’s life sciences industry. Over two days, 26 eager PhD candidates representing 15 schools across 11 states paid visits to seven local employers including ResMed, Takeda, BD, Janssen/JLABS, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Dexcom, and Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine. Upon completion of their PhD program, these students will enter high-demand occupations within the life sciences industry – namely, positions in bioinformatics, computational biology, genomics, and more. Our hope is that they chose to do so in our region.
EDC launched the San Diego Life Sciences Trek in 2017 as a strategy for attracting talent to support the growth of the region’s life sciences industry, mirroring the more typical MBA Trek model. Across the globe, leaders in genomics and connected health are gathering incomprehensible amounts of data with the power to unlock the human genome, make personalized care a reality, and enhance the way we live on a massive scale. Individuals skilled in bioinformatics, data science, and computational biology are instrumental in deciphering such data sets – a task with stunning implications across pharma, biotech, healthcare, genomics, and much more – and are thus highly sought after by companies and regions alike. The battle for talent is heating up.
Many trek participants attend this two-day program because they are curious about a career in industry, but with backgrounds in academia, have had limited opportunities to explore what one might look like. The Life Sciences Trek provides students a chance to get out from behind the lab bench to tour companies, talk with real professionals, and learn how their skills can be applied in life-changing companies in San Diego.
Through company tours, panel discussions, presentations, and a networking reception, students gained access to influential researchers and executives across leading life sciences employers. From drug discovery to connected devices, genetic sequencing to direct patient care, the breadth of opportunities for bioinformaticians became apparent within San Diego’s diverse life sciences ecosystem. In fact, after attending the trek, 90 percent of participants indicated that they plan to pursue a career in San Diego upon completion of their PhD program.
“It was a fantastic experience for someone who’s always been immersed in academia, but is interested in the industry.”
– PhD candidate in Bioinformatics, University of Michigan
“This was an incredible opportunity to network with the scientists that could be involved in hiring you in the future. It was an indispensable experience to see first hand the types of jobs that recent PhD graduates could be qualified for.”
– PhD candidate in Neuroscience, University of Southern California
“Seeing the positive testimonials from all the people at the companies regardless of their position about work-life culture will make me prioritize San Diego as my primary target for future job applications.”
– PhD candidate in Animal Biology with a focus on Biotechnology, UC Davis
“The trek was really eye-opening and definitely changed my perspective about potentially pursuing a career there!”
– PhD candidate in Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Southern California
“The SD trek is a great opportunity to familiarize yourself with biotech opportunities in SD and to learn about a great town with a lot of potential for aspiring scientists.”
– PhD candidate in Microbiology and Immunology, Dartmouth College
The trek group represented 15 schools: Carnegie Melon, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgia Tech, Stanford, Ohio State, UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz, University of Southern California, University of Idaho, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, University of Texas.
Trek highlights: Surprise guest Dr. Stephen Kingsmore, CEO of Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine and Guinness World Record holder for fastest genetic diagnosis through DNA sequencing.
You can’t talk about San Diego life sciences without talking about startups. Trek participants tour JLABS followed by a panel discussion moderated by Ashley Van Zeeland, co-founder of Cypher Genomics and former CTO of Human Longevity.
Notably, San Diego-based Scientist.com made the top 10, with 15,267.8 percent revenue growth. Scientist is a B2B marketplace that connects major pharmaceutical companies and the National Institutes of Health with research scientists.
The Inc. 5000 list ranks companies by revenue growth from 2015 through 2017 for companies that are U.S.-based, privately-held, for profit, and independent with 2017 revenues greater than $2 million. The 126 San Diego companies on the list totaled more than $2.4 billion in annual revenue in 2017.
This list shows San Diego’s businesses are gaining steam. While we’re home to one percent of the nation’s privately-held businesses, San Diego companies make up 2.5 percent of this year’s Inc. 5000 list.
Each month the California Employment Development Department (EDD) releases industry data for the prior month. This edition of San Diego’s Economic Pulse covers July 2018 data, including unemployment, new business establishments, and job postings.
Highlights include:
Data from the month of July reflect seasonal employment losses. The unemployment rate fell slightly during the month to 3.5 percent after a sharp spike in June.
Nonfarm employment fell by 14,400, or 1.0 percent, in July. Compared to year ago, total nonfarm employment is up 21,200, or 1.5 percent.
San Diego’s unemployment rate remains well below both the state rate of 4.4 percent and the national rate of 4.1 percent, both of which also saw small declines in July.
Nearly every jurisdiction saw declines in its unemployment rate in July. Only Solana Beach experienced no change in its unemployment rate of 1.5 percent.
Thank you to those who joined EDC last night for the SD: Life. Changing. Summer Bash. Since the beginning, this has been a community-driven campaign, and last night was no exception.
This event would not have been possible without the vision of Dan Ryan and his team at Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., as well as our sponsors DPR Construction, BNBuilders, and many more. A huge thanks to Dawn Barry and Nate Wiger for telling us their San Diego stories, and to Brian Malarkey for dishing up some culinary magic. These are exactly the kind of companies and people that make this place Life. Changing., and these are exactly the types of stories that we need to continue to tell.
But we cannot do this alone. We need your help. As part of SDlifechanging.org, we’ve created a Talent Recruitment Toolkit and a directory + map of the region’s most innovative companies – You can request free access to those here. We’re asking you – as San Diegans that know and love this region – to share these resources on your company and personal channels.
Please be sure to follow along and engage with us at @SDlifechanging and stay tuned for additional updates.
Stay life-changing, San Diego.
– Team EDC
p.s. Event photos will soon be available for download here.
The second most populous county in California, San Diego County is a center of entrepreneurship and innovation with one of the most highly educated workforces in the world.
However, changing skill requirements, a nationwide battle for talent, and a soaring cost of living are threatening our regional competitiveness.
According to the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC), San Diego’s Hispanic population is our fastest growing group and will become our region’s largest by 2030. However, Hispanics and other underserved populations are dramatically underrepresented in our region’s innovation occupations and possess lower rates of educational attainment.
For the region to remain competitive, proactive measures to promote economic inclusion must be taken.
THE CASE FOR ECONOMIC INCLUSION
The San Diego Foundation Science & Technology Program nonprofit partners are working to close demographic gaps in educational attainment and strengthen our regional resilience by building an inclusive economy.
Since 1999, the Science & Technology Program has granted more than $8 million to support scientists and engineers in San Diego, and most recently granted $632,934 to 10 programs aiming to increase opportunities for those who work and learn in our region.
Grantees such as California State University San Marcos and Access Inc. support San Diego’s innovation economy by creating and expanding a pipeline of young adults underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields to college and career opportunities for inclusive growth.
Inclusive growth is crucial to sustain a successful, regional economy, especially for our innovation sector, which accounts for more than 25 percent of San Diego’s economic activity.
PREPARING OUR REGION’S WORKFORCE OF THE FUTURE
The San Diego Foundation Director of Community Impact Katie Rast recently discussed how we can grow an inclusive, regional economy with key stakeholders: President & CEO of San Diego Regional EDC Mark Cafferty, Vice President of Youth Programs at Access Inc. Roshawn Brady, and Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Cal State San Marcos Dr. Julie Jameson.
Watch the recording below of the Facebook Live conversation to learn why preparing our region’s workforce of the future means ensuring our underserved communities are competitive and how visionary organizations are making an impact in the lives of young, underrepresented adults.
Earlier this month, the Port of San Diego secured a three-year ocean liner contract with European shipping conglomerate G2 Ocean. The deal ensures consistent break bulk service from Europe to San Diego, an important step for the Port as it continues to increase its cargo capacity via the redevelopment of its Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal. According to Greg Borossay, Principal Maritime Business Development at Port of San Diego, the G2 service will contribute $650 – 750k per year to Port revenue, for the next three years.
This deal is part of a larger Port effort to attract large ocean liners to San Diego in order to provide more options for local companies, most of which currently ship out of the Ports of LA and Long Beach.
To assist with these efforts, WTC San Diego executed a study at the beginning of 2018 comparing trucking rates throughout the Southwestern United States from the Ports of LA, Long Beach, and San Diego. Mr. Borossay says the study was used in discussions with G2 and other ocean liners to illustrate the overall cost savings of establishing San Diego as a port of call.
Each month the California Employment Development Department (EDD) releases industry data for the prior month. This edition of San Diego’s Economic Pulse covers June 2018 data, including unemployment, new business establishments, and job postings.
Highlights include:
The region’s unemployment rose to 3.7 percent in June after several months of record lows.
Every jurisdiction saw an increase in the unemployment rate during the month of June. Six cities had increases of a full percentage point.
Labor force grew, adding 5,200 workers during the month, up 0.3 percent. However the labor force is down 2,500 compared to a year ago.
Monthly employment trends changes appear to be countering trends of the past year. PST services continue to have the fastest year-over-year growth, up 4.9 percent.
It’s Comic-Con week, San Diego. Whether you’re one of the 135,000 attendees or you’re just heading downtown to people-watch, Comic-Con has the power to turn the mundane into the magical – if done right. The international convention has a $147.1 million regional economic impact, and spurs 57,7000 hotel room nights. And in an attempt to attract attendees from outside of the region to live and work here, San Diego: Life. Changing. is hosting a Comic-Contest on social media and is even setting up a skylight downtown. Location hint: it smells like chocolate and looks like a hipster’s closet…. See below for a Comic-Con how-to guide.
How to Comic-Con
Don’t be afraid to walk. All of downtown San Diego will be jam-PACKED with cool activations on buildings, buses, trolleys, street corners, our sunny skies, and bars/restaurants galore. Parking far away might not be such a bad thing.
Download Ace Parking app. If you’re one of the many people who weren’t quick enough to get the sold-out Comic-Con parking spaces, you can download the free Ace Parking app to see where all of the available public parking spots are at. Thursday morning is usually the most challenging time for parking, since many people will be trying to navigate around downtown for the first time. Just be patient and embrace it.
Or take the Trolley. The SDCCU Stadium (Formerly Qualcomm Stadium) is an easy and convenient alternative to braving downtown in a car. For the small price of a trolley ticket, you can park and enjoy a ride to and from downtown, most likely seated next to your favorite superhero and villain.
Wear comfortable close-toed shoes and socks. We get it. It’s San Diego, and people wear flip-flops here. But Comic-Con draws thousands of people into downtown San Diego. That means the streets, sidewalks, and any other surface will be taken up by people walking every which way. You are most likely to get stomped on and/or will be walking a couple miles. Wear your comfy shoes and you’ll be thankful later.
Embrace the lines. Lines are everywhere. For the panels, the crazy cool photo ops, and especially at all of the nearby restaurants and bars. It’s okay, just hop in and know that whatever you’re waiting for will be worth it. The people-watching alone will surely set your spirits back up.
Know your way around. A lot of time can be wasted by trying to navigate around the crowds. Don’t be that lost soul, desperately in need of an iced coffee but can’t figure out where to get it. Do your homework to know where you’d want to get food/drinks from and where they are located in downtown. Also note that Harbor Drive will be closed for the first time this year. The Convention Center put together some helpful maps, so you don’t drive around like a newb.
Have fun! This is a time for you to explore everything nerdy with people all around who share that same passion. From comics to tabletop games to movies to books, it has everything. Talk to people in lines, make friends. Who knows, you could meet your new BFF…or roommate for when you finally take the San Diego plunge.
The fun doesn’t have to end with Comic-Con. Enter the #ComicContest
We’ve teamed up with local illustrator Jon Condry (@joncondry) to develop custom-made pins, in the spirit of San Diego: Life. Changing. So head to IDW Publishing‘s booth #2743 (did you know they were a San Diego-based company?) to collect one. And keep a lookout for San Diego: Life. Changing.’s street team (@bernoraptor & @bree_burris) this weekend for another shot. Follow @SDlifechanging on Twitter, where they’ll keep you up-to-date on their location. Then, once you have your hands on one of these exclusive pins, head over to our one of our social channels – @SDlifechanging in case you were wondering – and post it. Check out sandiegolifechanging.org/comiccontest/ for more details and info. And check out #ComicContest to see some posts.
And if you want to start your job search today, head over to the company map to learn about some of our companies that are hiring.
This week, WTC San Diego partnered with the U.S. Commercial Service team in San Diego to host a business roundtable led by Mr. Alan Turley, the Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for China and Mongolia. With much at stake in the future of the U.S.-China relationship, DAS Turley’s visit presented seven local companies and institutions a chance to voice their concerns directly to a government official involved in formulating and negotiating U.S.-China trade policy and offered reassurance and guidance to those companies presently conducting business across borders so they may remain globally competitive.
The roundtable was particularly timely as it took place amidst growing concerns over steel and aluminum tariffs and less than two weeks after the Trump Administration announced it would impose 25 percent tariffs on Chinese goods, worth $34 billion. The Administration is currently preparing an additional round of tariffs, worth $200 billion, in response to China’s retaliatory tariffs.
EDC launched the 
