County unemployment rate keeps falling

The San Diego County unemployment rate dropped to 4.5 percent in April from a revised 4.7 percent in March and 5.0 percent a year ago, according to data from the California Employment Development Department. Jobs rose 6000 in the month.

The big gainer was leisure and hospitality jobs, up 3300 in the month. This is normally a strong period as hotels and restaurants gear up for summer tourism. The biggest loser in the month was manufacturing, down 1200 jobs.

Jobs were up 36,900 from a year earlier. Education and health services were the big gainers year-over-year, with a rise of 7100 jobs.