Ho-ho-ho no more

San Diego County lost 19,900 jobs in January compared with December. Almost 9000 of those lost jobs were a result of a cutback in Christmas retailing jobs.

The unemployment rate dropped to 4.7 percent in January from a revised 4.8 percent in December. It is not unusual for both jobs and the unemployment rate to decline. The unemployment rate is the percentage of the workforce that is jobless and looking for paid employment.

The county gained 38,200 jobs between January 2016 and January of last year, a rise of 2.8 percent.