New downtown guides highlight local charm to attract top talent, boost business

SDNEDC's latest effort focuses on downtown businesses and activities to efficiently and effectively drive attention to those areas by featuring local favorites and new venues

The San Diego North Economic Development Council’s latest effort highlights local downtowns on Thatch.co. Courtesy photo

One of the biggest issues in modern economic development is talent acquisition and retention, and San Diego County is no exception. Except for the pandemic layoffs, our region has experienced a long trend of historically low unemployment rates.

While this is good for employees, it creates a competitive job market with more job openings than workers available to fill them. Employers have to compete more aggressively to attract qualified candidates from a smaller talent pool.  This hinders growth and makes North County less competitive than it otherwise would be.

San Diego County’s unemployment rate currently sits at 4.6%, and even lower for technical occupations. In San Diego North Economic Development Council’s (SDNEDC) Q2 STEM Job Postings Report, we see a 12% rise in job postings and a 5% increase in employers competing for STEM talent compared to Q1 and an 11-day decrease in average job posting duration, signaling a significantly more competitive STEM job market.