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St. Johns County Leads With One Of State's Lowest Unemployment Rates

big rig at JAXPORT
JAXPORT

It’s a good time to be a job seeker in Northeast Florida—especially if you live in St. Johns County. That was the report given Tuesday morning at the Florida Cabinet meeting in St. Augustine.

Economic Opportunity Department Executive Director Jesse Panuccio presented the rosy outlook to Gov. Rick Scott and other top state officials.

“The unemployment rate locally is down from a recession high of 11.2 percent all the way down to 5.6 percent," he said, "and if we get hyperlocal and we talk just about [St. Johns] County, the county unemployment rate is 4 percent, one of the best in the state, so congratulations."

Panuccio says there are about 20,000 job openings in Northeast Florida.

They span industries from nursing to computer science to truck driving.

Jessica Palombo supervises local news gathering and production, podcasts and web editorial content for WJCT News, ADAPT and Jacksonville Today. She is an award-winning writer and journalist with bylines including NPR, Experience Magazine, and The Gainesville Sun. She has a master’s degree in broadcast and digital journalism from Syracuse University and is an alumna of the University of Florida. A nearly lifelong resident of Jacksonville, she considers herself lucky to be raising her own children in her hometown. Follow Jessica Palombo on Twitter: @JaxJessicaP