Data / Unemployed people / San Francisco, CA

Unemployed people in San Francisco, CA

Unemployed people in San Francisco, CA was 20,742 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 3.3% from 2024. That is the 4th highest of 285 cities in 2025.

2025, persons20,742
Change on 2024+3.3%
Rank4th of 285Cities in California ranked
Series high44,2802020
Series low12,8801999

Next release: Wednesday, 28 October 2026, 10:00 ET, announced by BLS. Release calendar

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Unemployed people in San Francisco, CA, 1990 to 2025

10K20K30K40K50K19901996200220082014202020251990: 15,425 persons1991: 21,918 persons1992: 27,844 persons1993: 28,751 persons1994: 25,995 persons1995: 23,927 persons1996: 19,271 persons1997: 16,825 persons1998: 15,258 persons1999: 12,880 persons2000: 15,970 persons2001: 24,033 persons2002: 31,382 persons2003: 29,259 persons2004: 24,248 persons2005: 20,682 persons2006: 17,558 persons2007: 18,410 persons2008: 24,233 persons2009: 41,831 persons2010: 43,572 persons2011: 39,604 persons2012: 34,528 persons2013: 28,374 persons2014: 23,379 persons2015: 19,799 persons2016: 18,478 persons2017: 16,656 persons2018: 13,699 persons2019: 12,957 persons2020: 44,280 persons2021: 27,820 persons2022: 14,493 persons2023: 17,840 persons2024: 20,072 persons2025: 20,742 persons
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-09-30.
All 36 values
Periodpersons
202520,742
202420,072
202317,840
202214,493
202127,820
202044,280
201912,957
201813,699
201716,656
201618,478
201519,799
201423,379
201328,374
201234,528
201139,604
201043,572
200941,831
200824,233
200718,410
200617,558
200520,682
200424,248
200329,259
200231,382
200124,033
200015,970
199912,880
199815,258
199716,825
199619,271
199523,927
199425,995
199328,751
199227,844
199121,918
199015,425

Rankings

Definition

Residents with no job who were available for work and had looked for work in the previous four weeks, or were waiting to be recalled from a layoff, annual average. People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. The survey definition, not a count of benefit claimants. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average (Unemployed people, San Francisco, CA, 1990 to 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Unemployed people, San Francisco, CA, 1990 to 2025. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/san-francisco-ca. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Unemployed people, San Francisco, CA, 1990 to 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/san-francisco-ca.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Unemployed people, San Francisco, CA, 1990 to 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/san-francisco-ca (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_unemployed_people_san_francisco_2025,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Unemployed people, San Francisco, CA, 1990 to 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/san-francisco-ca. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Unemployed people, San Francisco, CA, 1990 to 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/san-francisco-ca
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/san-francisco-ca.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the unemployed people in San Francisco, CA?

Unemployed people in San Francisco, CA was 20,742 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 3.3% from 2024. That is the 4th highest of 285 cities in 2025.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest unemployed people in San Francisco, CA?

44,280 in 2020, the highest value since 1990 in this series.

Unemployed people elsewhere in California

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All statistics for San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA in figures