Northeast Florida unemployment up despite jump in available jobs

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida Department of Economic Opportunity reported that despite a rise in job opportunities, Jacksonville’s unemployment rate rose to a 10-month high this June.

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The jobless rate in the Jacksonville area, which includes Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties, rose from 2.7% in May to 3% in June. That is the highest level since it was nearly 3% in August 2022.

However, according to FDEO, rising unemployment is a normal spring trend due to high school and college graduates entering the workforce, and FDEO’s reports don’t provide seasonally adjusted data in its monthly reports.

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According to FDEO’s survey, the number of unemployed people in the Jacksonville area rose by about 13,000, which lands monthly unemployment at 853,859. That combined with a jump in the labor force, which grew about 17,000 to a total of 880,859, caused the unemployment rate to rise.

Florida as a whole tells a different story. The agency reported that the state’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 2.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis for June. Before seasonal adjustment though, it rose from 2.8% to 3.2%.

As far as non-farm businesses in Northeast Florida, FDEO reported continued gains in payroll since last year. Those businesses increased jobs by 39,100 within a year, which is a 5.1% growth.

Jobs also increased in every industry sector. The big winners were the leisure and hospitality sector, which rose by 10.7% with 9,300 more jobs, and professional, scientific and technical services, which rose by 11% with a 6,100 job increase.

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