Northeast Florida’s unemployment rate is slowly improving as the year progresses, according to the latest state data.
According to the latest month-to-month data from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Duval County’s unemployment rate fell from 6.3% in August to 5.7% in September.
Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns Counties also saw a dip in their unemployment rates, as well.
The Jacksonville metropolitan area, which includes outlying areas outside of Duval County, had an unemployment rate of 5.1%, which has the sixth lowest unemployment rate of Florida 24 metropolitan areas.
No Northeast Florida counties were in the bottom 25 for the highest unemployment:
- Duval County (29th - 5.7%)
- Nassau County (T- 48th - 4.4%)
- Clay County (T- 56th - 4.1%)
- Baker County (T- 56th - 4.1%)
- St. Johns County (T- 56th - 4.1%)
While Northeast Florida is moving in a positive direction for jobs, the state as a whole saw its unemployment rate rise from 7.3% in August to 7.6% in September.
The overall labor force in the state fell by about 2,000 jobs from month to month, while 28,000 more people are now unemployed.
The Jacksonville metro’s work force saw a small decline from 775,527 potential workers in August, to 773,777 in September.
The regions with the highest unemployment rates are the Miami and Orlando metro areas. The Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall area reported a 13% unemployment rate, while the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford area hovered around 10%.
Meanwhile, job availability is on the rise. Industries like information, government, manufacturing, and education and health services all reported thousands of new available jobs. Construction and jobs listed as “other services” were the only two industries that saw a shrinkage.
Sky Lebron can be reached at slebron@wjct.org, 904-358-6319 or on Twitter at @SkylerLebron.
