Tag: talent

Inclusive Growth Spotlight: ASML

By San Diego Regional EDC,

EDC’s Inclusive Growth blog series highlights and celebrates local companies helping drive economic progress toward San Diego’s 2030 Inclusive Growth goals.

Launched in 2018 and informed by a partnership with the Brookings Institution, the Inclusive Growth initiative sets 2030 goals for San Diego related to increasing: 1) the supply of talent, 2) quality small business jobs, and 3) newly thriving households. The goals inform San Diego’s economic priorities and make the business case for economic inclusion.

Regional talent demand remains high

To maintain economic competitiveness, the region needs 20,000 students per year completing post-secondary education within six years of graduating high school.

Talent scarcity has become the new normal as the fastest-growing occupations in San Diego typically require a bachelor’s degree or higher. Compounding this challenge, student success is demographically uneven in the San Diego region. Despite making up 36% of the region’s workforce in 2024, Hispanics and Latinos only account for 23% of post-secondary degree earners in San Diego.

The workforce of tomorrow is not represented in San Diego’s growing economy; employer-led talent development and retention efforts are critical to the future of San Diego’s economy. ASML is among those working toward a solution.

Read the latest Inclusive Growth Update

 

Meet ASML

ASML is a global innovation leader in the semiconductor industry, providing chipmakers with the hardware, software, and services needed to produce advanced microchips. Those chips power the technologies we rely on every day, from smartphones and artificial intelligence to healthcare devices and clean energy solutions. ASML’s mission is to unlock the potential of people and society by advancing technology to shape a better future. In San Diego, that means not only growing its footprint, but also investing in the talent, education, and community partnerships that help our region thrive.

Inspiring interest, building opportunity

The semiconductor industry depends on a highly skilled workforce, and demand for STEM talent continues to grow faster than supply. Like all technology companies, ASML looks to recruit and retain top engineers, software developers, technicians, and other specialized professionals to sustain and advance its R&D and advanced manufacturing operations.

At the same time, the company recognizes that some students do not have many opportunities to learn about what a STEM career could look like for them. Lack of exposure, access, and professional networks can create barriers long before students begin making career decisions.

Addressing these challenges requires a long-term strategy. Talent development starts by inspiring curiosity and confidence in students well before they reach college or even high school age. That’s why ASML focuses on expanding access to STEM education, career exploration, and mentorship opportunities early on, particularly for priority students.

With partners including schools, nonprofits, and others in industry, ASML is helping create more pathways for local students to discover STEM careers and ultimately leverage technology to contribute to solving some of society’s key challenges, in San Diego and elsewhere.

Shared responsibility and intentional actions to support local talent

At ASML, talent development is viewed as a shared responsibility. As the company’s San Diego presence has grown, employing more than 2,000 locally, ASML has intentionally expanded its Community Partnership Program to strengthen the local STEM ecosystem and help create future talent pathways.

Since launching the program in 2023, ASML has grown its local portfolio to 10 active grants valued at $8 million, supporting organizations that will reach more than 25,000 students through K-12 STEM education, college readiness, career exploration, and workforce development programs.

ASML’s education partnerships span the student journey, from early science education programs with organizations like Science Delivered and the Children’s Museum of Discovery, to STEM learning with Ocean Discovery Institute and Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego. ASML also supports career readiness through Project Next, which introduces students to local employers and helps them explore education and career pathways. Through visits to ASML, students can meet employees, tour the facilities, and see firsthand what a future in STEM could look like.

ASML employees also play a direct role in the Community Partnership Program through volunteering, mentoring, and matching gifts. Last year alone, ASML San Diego employees contributed more than 2,500 volunteer hours in the community.

Why an investment in EDC

ASML values EDC as a trusted convener and partner that brings together industry, education, government, and community leaders around the issues that matter most to San Diego’s future.

“Through EDC’s events, working groups, research, and leadership forums, we gain valuable insights into regional workforce trends, economic development priorities, and opportunities to collaborate with organizations that share our commitment to inclusive growth.” — Karen Reinhardt, US Head of HR, ASML

The partnership helps ensure that ASML remains connected to the broader needs of the community while contributing to conversations and initiatives that strengthen San Diego’s innovation economy for the long term.

Join the movement

Progress on EDC’s 2030 Inclusive Growth goals is only achievable with and through the region’s employers scaling innovative and intentional solutions. Major employers like ASML are helping to collectively pave the way toward a more inclusive regional economy. Join us:

To learn more and get involved in EDC’s work, contact:

Bree Burris
Bree Burris

Sr. Director, Communications & Community Engagement

San Diego employers share 2026 talent needs across priority occupations

By Emily Chowaniec,

To better understand San Diego’s talent demand in priority industries, EDC’s Advancing San Diego program partnered with BW Research to conduct a comprehensive talent demand survey focused on business, computing, engineering, and life sciences occupations. A region-wide survey of 355 businesses in San Diego County was fielded in March 2026, prioritizing larger firms to develop a more comprehensive profile of each of the listed occupations across a wide range of industries.

Talent Demand Report 2026 updates

This data-driven effort serves to inform Advancing San Diego’s Verified Program process, providing a real-time look at the workforce needs of local employers. Results show that while businesses are ready to grow, many face ongoing challenges in finding both entry-level and non-entry-level candidates with the skills, certifications, and experience needed to fill roles.

Key findings

  • The largest share of employers considered bookkeeping, accounting, and auditor roles as the most important out of all business, computing, and engineering positions.
  • San Diego employers anticipate increased hiring across highly technical and skilled roles.
    • Employers project the largest increase in positions for software developers, assemblers, and information security analysts over the next 12 months.
  • Certifications are especially important in IT and cybersecurity roles.
    • Certifications such as Network+ and Security+ are often mandated for entry-level IT roles with others like CCNA and CEH often preferred.
  • Hiring challenges are driven primarily by a lack of relevant training and education among applicants.
    • For entry-level roles, 56.2% of employers report that candidates lack the necessary qualifications. For non-entry-level roles, 34.7% of employers say applicants lack adequate training and 27.1% report a lack of experience.
  • Lab tech hiring remains steady, with 83% of organizations planning to maintain or grow their workforce in the coming year.

Importance of work-based learning

One key survey finding was the importance of work-based learning. As employers continue to identify gaps in training and work experience in prospective hires, paid internships help bridge the gap between education and employment by giving students opportunities to apply classroom learning in real-world settings, build professional networks, and gain the experience employers seek. Work-based learning also provides value to employers: a 2025 report by Junior Achievement of San Diego County and EDC found that 92% of participating employers viewed internships as a way to expand or diversify their recruitment pipeline, highlighting how internships help develop the skilled local talent needed to support San Diego’s growing economy.

What’s next?

Advancing San Diego verifies educational programs that meet or exceed industry expectations for priority occupations across the region’s high-growth, innovation sectors. Programs that earn this designation gain public recognition and student-connection to regional employers.

The 2026 application is now open for business, computing, and engineering programs. Programs that are already verified do not need to reapply; see current roster here.

2026 timeline

  • April 21: Verified Program application opens
  • September 27: Application deadline. EDC notifies programs that passed part one of the application process
  • November: Verified Program Designation Day
    • Programs pitch to industry to share diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at in-person event. Industry participants fill out rubrics based on program pitches as part two of the application
  • Early December: EDC announces a new slate of Verified Programs!

Apply Now

Check out Talent Demand Reports across other priority sectors to stay up to date on workforce trends in San Diego.

To learn more and get involved in EDC’s work, contact talent@sandiegobusiness.org

Emily Chowaniec
Emily Chowaniec

Coordinator, Talent Initiatives

EDC awarded grant to connect classrooms to careers in an AI-enabled workforce

By Bridgette Coleman,

With artificial intelligence becoming increasingly involved in how work gets done across industries, workplace tasks and the skills employers value are changing. As those changes accelerate, helping students connect classroom learning to real career opportunities has never been more important.

To address these challenges for San Diego, EDC is proud to announce we have been selected as one of five organizations nationwide—chosen from nearly 200 applicants—to participate in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s (USCCF) Pathways with Purpose Through Career-Connected Learning Initiative. Through this grant, EDC will lead an employer-driven effort to strengthen connections between education and workforce opportunities, helping students explore careers, build relevant skills, and prepare for in-demand jobs.

For EDC, this project represents an important milestone. While we have long partnered with educators through Advancing San Diego (ASD) to align post-secondary education with regional workforce needs, this marks ASD’s first initiative focused specifically on career-connected learning in high school education in San Diego County.

Preparing students for the jobs of the future

At EDC, workforce development begins with employers. By understanding how work is changing and what skills businesses need, we can help education partners align learning experiences with workforce demand and better prepare students for future careers.

National research suggests that as artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into the workplace, employers increasingly seek workers with both technical skills—AI engineering, technological literacy, data analysis—and human skills—analytical thinking, communication, flexibility. We’re hearing the same message from employers across San Diego who have participated in EDC’s employer working groups. While AI and digital tools are becoming more common in the workplace, employers consistently emphasize that technical knowledge must be paired with critical thinking, communication, adaptability, and problem solving. These foundational human skills help workers adapt as technology and jobs continue to evolve.

EDC will bring employers to the table to help shape career-connected learning – informing and validating curriculum, engaging directly with students in the classroom, and offering work-based learning experiences at employer sites. By connecting classroom learning with real careers and workplace expectations, these experiences will help students build relevant technical and durable skills and gain confidence navigating a changing workplace.

Putting employer insights into action

Using the employer-led Talent Pipeline Management® process, EDC will use the USCCF grant to engage employers in identifying how AI is influencing entry-level work, and work with education partners to translate those insights into meaningful learning experiences for students.

In partnership with San Diego State University, Junior Achievement of San Diego, United Way of San Diego County, San Diego Unified School District, and the Border Region K-16 Collaborative, employer insights will inform the development of expanded work-based learning opportunities and an AI-focused micro-credential for students, as well as educator resources that connect classroom learning with evolving workforce needs.

By keeping employers at the center of the process, the partnership will help ensure students gain the knowledge, skills, and experiences employers value while strengthening the region’s future talent pipeline.

Help us shape the future workforce

As AI continues to influence how work gets done, EDC is looking for employers to help answer how AI is changing their workforce, particularly entry-level roles, and what knowledge and skills future employees will need to succeed.

Through employer interviews, advisory groups, and regional convenings, EDC will explore how work is evolving and use those insights to inform curriculum and work-based learning opportunities through the project.

We would be eager to involve your company in employer interviews, advisory groups, or other project activities. Please contact our team to participate:

Bridgette Coleman
Bridgette Coleman

Sr. Manager, Talent Initiatives

A note from Mark: San Diego’s progress to Inclusive Growth

By Mark Cafferty,

Dear EDC Investors and partners,

I hope this message finds you well as we close out the first quarter of 2026. It was a shaky and unpredictable quarter for the region and the nation in so many ways. Yet through it all, our team at EDC continues to draw great inspiration from all of you as you stay committed to the success of your companies and to the health of the communities around you.

We know through our own research and data that important elements of San Diego’s economy are competitive and growing. However, we also know that we are facing a challenging inflection point: Our current growth is running parallel to the region’s persistently high cost of living, wide income gaps, and the ability for all San Diegans to live comfortably and thrive.

Simply put, our progress is not outpacing our problems. And that isn’t something to run from or ignore—but rather something to face and resolve.

As San Diego continues to see some gains toward its 2030 Inclusive Growth goals—increasing quality jobs within small businesses, increasing post-secondary education completions, and enabling more thriving households—our long-term success relies on both economic and inclusive growth. Still, and always. Without focusing on both, we risk losing talent to more accessible regions, constraining local spending, corroding our robust innovation economy, and stalling our (global) competitiveness for the future.

I invite you to explore our recently released 2030 Inclusive Growth Progress Report. The results are mixed, but the path remains clear. Every challenge presents us with an opportunity, and every opportunity puts us one step closer to a prosperous and sustainable future for our region.

With gratitude and respect,

Mark Cafferty
President & CEO
San Diego Regional EDC

2025 Inclusive Growth Update

Inclusive Growth Spotlight: Cajon Valley Union School District

By San Diego Regional EDC,

EDC’s Inclusive Growth blog series highlights and celebrates local companies and organizations helping drive economic growth and progress toward San Diego’s 2030 Inclusive Growth goals.

Launched in 2018 and informed by a partnership with the Brookings Institution, the Inclusive Growth initiative sets 2030 goals for San Diego related to increasing: 1) the supply of talent, 2) quality small business jobs, and 3) newly thriving households. The goals inform San Diego’s economic priorities and make the business case for economic inclusion.

Regional talent demand remains high

To maintain economic competitiveness, the region needs 20,000 students per year completing post-secondary education within six years of graduating high school.

While progress toward the goal has increased incrementally since 2017, talent scarcity has become the new normal as hiring demand exceeds the supply of talent across industries. Compounding this challenge, student success is demographically uneven as Hispanics and Latinos only account for 17 percent of residents over 25 years old with at least a bachelor’s degree. Employer-led talent pipeline development efforts are critical to the future of San Diego’s economy, and Cajon Valley Union School District is among those working toward a solution.

Meet CVUSD

The Cajon Valley Union School District (CVUSD) serves approximately 18,000 students across 28 schools spanning more than 60-square-miles in East San Diego County. Located in one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse regions of San Diego, the district has earned national recognition for its innovative approach to education, its commitment to whole child development, and its focus on preparing students for meaningful futures. At the center of the district’s work is a mission that guides every aspect of its approach to education: Happy Kids, Healthy Relationships, on a Path to Gainful Employment.

This mission reflects a belief that schools must do more than deliver academic content. Schools must help young people understand who they are, what they care about, and how their strengths can translate into meaningful contributions in the world.

An opportunity to re-define career preparedness

CVUSD serves one of the most diverse student populations in San Diego County. Many students are multilingual learners, newcomers to the United States, or the first in their families to navigate American education systems and postsecondary opportunities.

At the same time, San Diego faces a significant workforce development challenge, requiring education systems to rethink how they prepare students for the future. Historically, K–12 education and workforce development systems were not designed to respond dynamically to labor market changes, emerging industries, or employer needs. CVUSD has addressed this challenge by intentionally redesigning the student experience around identity, relevance, and future readiness.

An innovative approach to career-connected learning

Over the past decade, CVUSD has become nationally recognized for its World of Work framework—an innovative system that integrates career awareness, strengths discovery, and real-world learning experiences throughout the K–8 educational journey. Using the Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional career development assessment and model, students research professions aligned with their interests and strengths, interview professionals about their work, and present their findings through projects that connect classroom learning to real professions and pathways.

Career literacy is embedded throughout the curriculum. Students encounter real-world applications within reading and writing assignments, research projects, collaborative problem-solving challenges, and presentations that strengthen both academic and professional communication skills. Equally important, students regularly interact with professionals across San Diego’s major industry sectors.

This approach helps students see purpose in their education. In a recent district survey, 73% of students in fourth through eighth grade agreed with the statement, “The things I’m learning in school are important to my future.” This data reflects a powerful shift in how students experience learning, understanding that what they are studying today connects directly to the opportunities they may pursue tomorrow.

To expand these opportunities even further, CVUSD recently launched the World of Work Foundation, a nonprofit initiative designed to connect schools, employers, and community organizations around a shared vision for workforce development, and therefore expanding mentorship networks, employer partnerships, youth apprenticeship opportunities, and work-based learning experiences for students throughout the region.

In a region working to close opportunity gaps and build a stronger talent pipeline, CVUSD is preparing young people not only to graduate but to thrive.

Join the movement

Progress on EDC’s 2030 Inclusive Growth goals is only achievable with and through the region’s employers scaling innovative and intentional solutions. Anchor institutions like SDG&E are helping to collectively pave the way toward a more inclusive regional economy. Join us:

To learn more and get involved in EDC’s work, contact:

Bree Burris
Bree Burris

Sr. Director, Communications & Community Engagement

A note from Taylor: San Diego’s workforce in 2026

By Taylor Dunne,

Dear EDC investors and partners,

Last month, EDC’s Vice President of Economic Development and Research Eduardo Velasquez reminded us that San Diego stands at an inflection point—where technological transformation is colliding with long‑standing economic challenges in ways previously unseen. His note highlighted a region defined by promise and pressure: Slowing innovation‑sector job growth, rising household incomes shadowed by affordability constraints, and AI reshaping the very nature of work.

A month into 2026, more questions than answers remain, especially when it comes to talent: What is the role of post-secondary education in our changing region? How is AI shifting jobs and industries? And what does this mean for San Diego’s early career talent, our region’s leaders of tomorrow?

Built on talent—but facing new realities

San Diego’s economic engine has always been its people. With more than 100 research and education institutions, our region has long produced the skilled talent that fuels innovation, defense, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing.

The good news: More San Diego students are completing degrees and credentials than ever before. The region has sustained progress in completions, even as the pandemic’s long‑term impacts remain murky. But the data also makes one thing clear: Post-secondary education is more critical than ever. Jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree or higher continue to grow at a significantly faster rate than those requiring less education. In fact, in 2025, San Diego added six times more jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree or more versus those requiring an associate degree or less.

Additionally, the growth of legacy industry clusters that have served as the backbone of San Diego’s global competitiveness—tech, life sciences, and manufacturing—is slowing down. While bright spots remain in emerging industries like cleantech and aerospace (namely defense technology) that are critical to the region’s future competitiveness, transformations in these industries and varied levels of AI integration represent significant changes to the entire U.S. economy. Their effects will ripple throughout the whole workforce. 

Take the cleantech industry, for example, as policy-backed efforts to decarbonize in California are leading to more electrification. As buildings modernize, we might expect increased need for electricians, while the need for gas-line plumbers decreases. The auto mechanic historically focused on combustion engines must now become familiar with hybrid and electric motors. And the manufacturing company that embeds machine learning and automation now requires a person who can analyze and tell a story with the resulting data.

A future workforce that doesn’t yet see a future

Across the U.S., young college‑educated workers are facing a “unique convergence of structural forces” that have severed traditional entry points into white‑collar work.

AI is accelerating this shift. Automation and augmentation are happening within jobs, not just across them. The occupations where automation potential is high are the same ones where augmentation potential is high—meaning AI may not necessarily eliminate an occupation, but rather transform how an employee executes their tasks. 

With lower barrier to entry tasks most exposed to automation, the entry-level or new graduate workforce risks being edged out of opportunities to launch. Meanwhile, the nature of the tasks exposed to augmentation will require mid-level workers to continue upskilling to remain competitive. 

As for long-term impacts? It’s too early to tell. San Diego’s labor market data does not yet reflect an overhaul of entry-level roles. Job growth across innovation industries at all levels has declined over the last few years, and while entry-level job growth has declined slightly faster, it has not been the job elimination of our nightmares. 

What remains constant in our conversations with employers across industries and occupations is a need for soft skills that will never be automated. Skills like communication, empathy, and problem solving are more fashionable than ever. In fact, this demand has been so persistent that workforce developers and educators have taken to calling these “durable” skills—though figuring out how best to cultivate them in students may be the next great challenge. 

In a time of transitioning tech, too, regional employers are doubling down on opportunities to future-proof their workforce. We’ve heard from San Diego companies that are making a deliberate effort to traditionally train early career employees in the skills AI could support, both to strengthen institutional knowledge and develop future leaders. And local tech heavyweights are continuing to proactively invest in both tomorrow’s talent and technology, maintaining internship programs that convert as many as three in four interns to full-time roles and leveraging new technologies early to instill technical skills in the emerging workforce.

Lean in with us

To meet these challenges, EDC is doubling down on initiatives that align education, industry, and talent. Through regional and even national partnerships, we will continue to facilitate work-based learning like internships and apprenticeships, and equip the region to better understand its labor market needs.

Here’s how you can lean in:

  • Host a summer intern from a Verified Program: All intern hosts will work with an employer of record and have access to a pre-vetted batch of resumes. Small businesses may qualify for interns’ wages to be subsidized or fully covered. Learn about our Advancing San Diego internship program.
  • Hire from Verified Programs in San Diego: These local programs are employer-verified for teaching in-demand skills as well as serving a diverse student population. To connect with a Verified Program, reach out to EDC.
  • Help us collect critical regional talent data: With so many remaining questions, it has never been more important for training and education institutions to keep a pulse on future talent demand. Our talent data dashboard, annual talent survey, and talent demand reports help local education programs prepare San Diegans with the skills your company needs. If your company is experiencing shifts in talent needs, we want to hear about it.

San Diego’s future workforce is diverse, ambitious, and full of potential—but only if we build the systems that allow every resident to participate in and benefit from our innovation economy.

Your collaboration and investment—whether through hiring, training, curriculum partnerships, or direct support of EDC initiatives—continues to ensure that San Diego can cultivate the talent that creates, attracts, and retains cutting‑edge companies, strengthens our innovation clusters, and secures San Diego’s economic future.

Contact SDREDC
To learn more, please contact us.

More FROM Advancing SaN Diego

More on inclusive growth

A note from Eduardo: Looking into the 2026 crystal ball

By Eduardo Velasquez,

An inflection point

As another year begins, I sit with my crystal ball once again to see what we can glean from the data we’ve received this past year and what implications it may have for our region’s economic growth in the year ahead.

The past year told a complex story, driven by uncertainty. On the surface, the U.S. economy performed remarkably well, achieving 4.3 percent real GDP growth in Q3 2025, representing an acceleration from a year ago. But this growth has been buoyed by unprecedented investment in AI led by a handful of companies, potentially masking deeper structural shifts beneath the surface.

The U.S. achieved this growth while creating just 584,000 jobs—roughly one-third the rate seen in the past decade. And while San Diego gained its fair share, adding 5,800 jobs through November 2025, all our job growth was principally concentrated in higher education, healthcare, and local government.

In 2026, San Diego stands at an inflection point—one where technological transformation collides with traditional economic challenges in ways we haven’t seen before.

Innovation industries are losing steam

Our region’s innovation engines—the traded clusters that have long defined San Diego’s competitive advantage—are sputtering. Cumulative job growth across aerospace, life sciences, tech, and manufacturing has plateaued or declined from pandemic-era peaks. Cleantech continues to add jobs, though it represents a smaller sliver and is also growing at a slower pace than in previous years. More concerning, it’s not just leaner firms we’re seeing, but fewer firms altogether. Firm growth across these key industries has stagnated, with only defense tech startups providing a bright spot in an otherwise sobering picture.

 

This matters because innovation industry jobs have an outsized impact on our economy, with each added job supporting another two jobs elsewhere in the economy. When these jobs contract, the ripple effects are significant.

So what’s going on? In part, it’s a tale of structural transformation. Professional, scientific, and technical service jobs, which our innovation cluster relies on, declined 3.3 percent through November 2025. Meanwhile, an additional 550,000 square feet of office space were vacated during the year, bringing total vacant space to 11.3 million square feet in a year with zero new construction. 2025 showed our region’s economy is increasingly dependent on fewer knowledge workers and thus less office space to host those workers.

Yet, investment is happening. Nationwide, construction spending toward data centers is set to eclipse that of traditional office buildings—a trend that accelerated dramatically after ChatGPT’s release. Infrastructure investments are building for servers, not people.

AI is picking up the slack, for now

Amid this disruption comes a silver lining—AI may be delivering what all new technologies promise: Productivity. Looking at inflation-adjusted average wages as a proxy for productivity growth, San Diego’s innovation industries have recovered from the pandemic. AI may be responsible for this recovery, enabling workers to do more with less. This could help explain the decline in local job postings, which fell six percent in 2025.

The question is whether this productivity boost translates into broader prosperity or simply allows companies to operate with smaller teams.

San Diego’s talent landscape reflects this uncertainty. While the value of a degree has been questioned more than perhaps any time in history, it still brings higher income and greater job security in our region. In the past decade, more than twice as many local jobs have been added that require a bachelor’s degree or higher than those requiring associate’s degrees or less. This trend accelerated in 2025, with jobs requiring bachelor’s degrees or higher outnumbering others by a factor of six.

Yet, new graduates are struggling in a job market that increasingly favors experience alongside credentials. The national unemployment rate for young college graduates stands at 4.8 percent, up more than a percentage point compared to before the pandemic.

The market signal is clear: Disruption continues to favor those with degrees and experience, even as the nature of work itself transforms.

Affordability is not a hoax; it’s an enigma

Incomes are up and people are spending their money, but they’re not happy about it. That’s because the essentials like housing, childcare, energy, and transportation continue to get more expensive—local energy prices, for instance, are up nine percent year-over-year as of November 2025.

Housing affordability remains the single biggest threat to regional prosperity. While San Diego’s median household income has increased 25 percent since 2020—a welcome development—the cost of homeownership has far outpaced these gains. The median-priced home fell slightly to $990,000 in Q3 2025, requiring a household income of $263,000 to afford the monthly mortgage payment. Even those looking to rent are facing an average monthly outlay of $2,900, which makes San Diego one of the most expensive counties to rent in the nation.

There’s a glimmer of hope: San Diego home sales increased 14 percent year-over-year in September 2025, suggesting some movement in a frozen market.

Yet meaningful housing market recovery will remain elusive until mortgage rates drop substantially enough to free homeowners locked into historically low rates or make room for significant new supply.

The year ahead

These trends—the pace and composition of job growth, AI’s impact in the demand for talent, and housing affordability—will define San Diego’s 2026.

Can we leverage regional strengths to capture new growth opportunities, particularly in defense tech where startups show momentum? Will hiring priorities shift to tap new pools of talent as employers rethink what it means to be a skilled worker? How do we make room for more housing in a region where working families are increasingly priced out, while the office is increasingly empty?

The answers aren’t in my crystal ball.

They require deliberate action through an intentional, inclusive economic development agenda. We must make sure our region—and our state—is a place that not only cultivates great ideas but also enables the realization of those ideas into solutions, products, and jobs. We must make it easier for builders to build infrastructure and easier for businesses to do business.

In 2026, EDC will work to position San Diego as the destination for defense tech investment, build pipelines to better address employers’ evolving talent needs, and identify opportunities to replace unused office with much needed housing and infrastructure for working families.

But we can only do this with and through you—our partners across industry and academia, local and state government.

Now more than ever, our goal remains constant: To maximize San Diego’s economic prosperity and global competitiveness through meaningful partnerships with our 150+ investors and regional stakeholders. We know where we are and where we need to go. Getting there in 2026 will require resolve, creativity, and bold action—together.

LGSD!

Eduardo Velasquez
Eduardo Velasquez

Vice President, Economic Development & Research

 

Explore economic trends from prior years:

More FROM EDC’s research bureau

More on inclusive growth

Advancing San Diego summer internships bridge education and industry

By Emily Chowaniec,

Advancing San Diego: Building talent pipelines

EDC’s Advancing San Diego (ASD) internship program, run in partnership with the Border Region Talent Pipeline K-16 Collaborative and Imperial Valley EDC, has transformed how students across San Diego gain early career experience, while helping local businesses address talent needs. In Summer 2025, the ASD program placed 210 interns at 110 companies across San Diego and Imperial Counties, creating an invaluable bridge between education and industry in high-growth, high-wage fields like engineering, computing, and business. This program plays a crucial role in addressing regional talent shortages, helping local companies access vetted, diverse talent and offering students paid, hands-on learning opportunities in high-demand industries.

Summer 2025 by the numbers

*Priority populations include low-income individuals, first-generation college students, current community college students or community college transfers, veterans and active-duty military students, and students with disabilities

Addressing the talent gap with community impact

At the heart of ASD’s mission is a commitment to reaching under-resourced communities, ensuring that students from diverse backgrounds gain valuable career experience while helping local businesses address critical talent needs. Companies apply each year by early spring to host students from Advancing San Diego Verified Programs to be interns. These Verified Programs are selected based on industry-determined criteria, including industry engagement, diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as curriculum that teaches the most in-demand skills in computing, engineering, and business. This approach ensures that students’ skills align with evolving workforce demands, enhancing the overall impact of the internship experience.

EDC recruits local small to medium-sized businesses to host interns, and once companies are selected, students from Verified Programs apply for available internship roles. With more student applicants than available positions, students from priority populations receive preferred access to internship positions. In Summer 2025, 82 percent of interns identified with one or more priority populations, up nine percent from 2024. Importantly, the program provides financial support covering intern wages at a competitive rate. In 2025, local companies saved more than $1 million in payroll costs, ensuring businesses can prioritize mentorship and on-the-job training over recruitment logistics.

Real-world experience and career advancement

Each year, the internship program provides students with valuable work experience directly linked to their academic pursuits, equipping them with practical skills and career confidence. At the same time, companies benefit from student contributions. Surveyed companies shared that hosting interns improved their outlook on early-career talent: 91 percent agreed or strongly agreed that the program increased their likelihood of hiring a university student, and 82 percent said the same for community college students. For employers, this means a pipeline of highly motivated, well-prepared candidates who bring immediate value.

Day in the Life of a San Diego Intern video campaign

During the 2025 summer internship program, ASD launched its first “Day in the Life of a San Diego Intern” video campaign, inviting interns to share a glimpse into their internship experience through short videos. Thanks to generous donations from the San Diego Padres, San Diego FC, San Diego Wave FC, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, and SeaWorld San Diego, ASD was able to give five lucky winners tickets to signature San Diego experiences. The video campaign gave ASD interns the opportunity to share their professional experiences with the local business community and increase exposure of careers in San Diego to diverse groups of local young talent.

“After our sixth year partnering with this valuable program, Left Coast Engineering has hosted more than a dozen interns across electrical, mechanical, and aerospace engineering, plus computer science majors. As a small business here in San Diego since 1999, we see this as an opportunity to help develop and equip these engineering students with both the skillsets and mindset for successful product development. Our goal is to help engineers graduate with more experience and more value to benefit any hiring company.”

—Anita Baranowski, CEO, Left Coast Engineering

Is your company interested in hosting summer interns in 2026?

Apply now

Learn more about San Diego’s workforce trends and insights

Explore the talent dashboard

To learn more and get involved in EDC’s work, contact:

Emily Chowaniec
Emily Chowaniec

Coordinator, Talent Initiatives

A note from Mark on Giving Tuesday

By Mark Cafferty,

Dear EDC board members, investors, and friends,

“Giving Tuesday” officially began in 2012 as a fundraising campaign associated with the 92nd Street YMCA in New York City. Today, it has grown to become a “global generosity movement, unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world.” In just 13 years, the effort has gone from raising a few million dollars to support a single cause/campaign to raising billions of dollars for organizations and causes across the globe.

With the Thanksgiving holiday behind us and the year-end holidays just weeks away, we encourage everyone to continue to practice and promote the generosity and kindness that has had such a strong impact in our community over the last few months and throughout this past year. Our own local ‘generosity movement’ has meant the world to individuals, families, and valued institutions during a very difficult time.

Among the list of important and valuable causes, initiatives, and organizations within our region, one effort that remains near and dear to my heart—and one that our work at EDC has become fully aligned with—is that of youth employment and internship programs. As many of you know, I started my career working in school-to-work and school-to-career programs in Boston’s high schools and community colleges. Decades later, I have seen how those very programs changed and improved lives while strengthening and supporting the city’s economic growth and prosperity. We have started to see the same results here in the San Diego region through our Advancing San Diego program, partners, and the Border Region K-16 Collaborative.

As we head into 2026, Advancing San Diego’s post-secondary internship program that has been so generously supported by JPMorganChase and the state of California over the last few years is seeking new and sustained funding and support. Recognizing it as both a critical and important talent recruitment strategy for employers and an impactful work and learning experience for our local first-generation college students, we are hoping that far more San Diego-based employers will lean in to support the program in 2026. For more information on hosting an intern at your business this coming summer, please contact Taylor Dunne. Just hosting and supporting one more intern makes a world of difference.

And for those who cannot host an intern but still wish to support these efforts financially, we encourage you to make a donation to our 501(c)3 to ensure we can maximize the number of young people we place this summer at small and growing businesses. A $7,500 donation will fully cover the wages for an intern for the entire summer at a San Diego small business. A $500 donation will support the transportation, professional clothing, and any other support services needed by most students (especially those who are from more under-resourced backgrounds). And any donation will help support, grow, and advance this important cause.

We know that there are so many important initiatives and organizations that need support right now, but we also know that this is one way where your donation can help individuals and families within our region while also strengthening our economic outlook for the future.

As always, we cannot thank you enough for your leadership and support over the past year, and we look forward to working by your sides to make the year ahead as strong and stable as possible for our region’s businesses, workers, and households.

May all of your days ahead be merry and bright.

With gratitude and respect,

Mark Cafferty
Mark Cafferty

President & CEO

Support the internship program

Read EDC’s monthly report

Report: Meeting San Diego’s healthcare talent needs beyond 2025

By Bridgette Coleman,

Strengthening San Diego’s RN pipeline and expanding specialty training

Healthcare is San Diego’s second largest sector, supporting 160,000 jobs throughout San Diego County and providing critical care for our community. However, a national nursing shortage and aging population are intensifying the demand for skilled healthcare professionals. Simultaneously, communication breakdowns between regional industry and education are leading to misunderstandings around the supply and demand of talent.

To better understand San Diego’s regional demand for talent, EDC’s Advancing San Diego program conducted a comprehensive talent demand survey focused on priority roles in healthcare. The survey engaged nine of the region’s largest healthcare providers, collectively employing 66,000 and operating more than 175 regional facilities, to understand real-time data around critical nursing positions.

Key findings

  • Like much of the nation, San Diego faces a critical shortage of skilled nurses, with the highest demand for Registered Nurses (RNs). Labor market information indicates that the region will need more than 1,500 additional RNs in the next three years, but data from this working group revealed that new graduate nurses—those who have recently completed a training program—account for just 300 of the in-demand roles. Meanwhile, the region is graduating around 2,000 new RNs each year.
  • Most of the future regional demand for RNs will focus on specialization. Employers identified Operating Room RNs as the highest priority for specialty roles.
  • Regional healthcare employers reported a misalignment in the training of Radiological Technologists. 100 percent of surveyed employers said that cross-training Radiologic Technologists and Computed Tomography (CT) Technologists would add value to their organizations and emphasized a need for additional Imaging Technologists (X-ray, CT, Sonography, etc.) in the region.

Healthcare Talent Demand Report 2025

a critical need for specialty nurses

While traditional labor market data shows more than 15,000 regional job postings for RNs in 2024, the bulk of these postings are actually for experienced and specialty nurses, not entry-level roles. At the same time, regional education programs are graduating close to 2,000 RNs each year. The available labor market data does not differentiate demand based on entry-level versus experienced roles, creating a misalignment between employer need and the talent pipeline.

This misalignment illustrates how readily available labor market data—often the primary source for education institutions and policymakers—can misrepresent actual workforce needs

EDC’s employer working group verified this, reporting that regional demand for specialty RNs significantly outpaces demand for new graduate RNs, and ranked Operating Room, ICU/Critical Care, and Labor & Delivery RNs as their top hiring priorities.

Furthermore, as many employers pointed to the oversaturation of new graduate RNs as one reason for the frequently cited shortage of clinical placement opportunities, hospitals must balance the need to upskill incumbent nurses with the growing demand for new grad placements, all while working with an already strained pool of available preceptors. While many hospitals invest heavily in internal training to grow their staff, this model puts the burden of training solely on hospitals who are already feeling the strain of a limited workforce. Limited clinical placement capacity, high costs, and competition across healthcare systems make it increasingly difficult to keep pace with growth and turnover.

Across the nation and in San Diego, specialty RNs remain at the heart of quality care and operational efficiency, nursing career mobility. They support the next generation of nurses through training and precepting – an important factor in retaining talent in the region. Ensuring a steady pipeline of these skilled professionals is not only a workforce issue—it’s also essential to driving the future of San Diego’s innovative healthcare systems and standards of excellence.

San diego’s strong healthcare future

As hospitals focus on building solutions for specialty training, the region must also continue to strengthen the new graduate RN pipeline.

“A balanced healthcare workforce means investing in both new talent and advanced training. By working together as a region, we can create innovative solutions that meet today’s challenges and ensure San Diego’s healthcare system thrives for years to come.”

– Elmerissa Sheets, Senior Director Talent Acquisition and Development, Scripps Health

New graduates trained through local institutions form the foundation of San Diego’s nursing workforce and will be essential in healthcare systems’ ability to meet rising demand.

From there, San Diego’s healthcare providers have a critical opportunity to secure a strong regional talent pipeline and ensure healthy communities into the future—by investing in new graduate RNs and accelerating their pathways into specialty roles.

Explore the full report to learn more and see how the group is beginning to build solutions.

Explore more Talent Demand Reports

Check out Talent Demand Reports across other priority sectors to stay up to date on workforce trends in San Diego.

Dive into the data

Use EDC’s Data Dashboard to explore how local education programs align with regional workforce needs and identify equity gaps in real-time. The dashboard highlights race and gender disparities, program completions, and connections to priority occupations—all designed to support more data-informed talent development efforts in San Diego County.

To learn more and get involved in EDC’s work, contact talent@sandieogbusiness.org.

Bridgette Coleman
Bridgette Coleman

Sr. Manager, Talent Initiatives