Unemployment

The unemployment rate typically rises in May as college and high school graduates enter the workforce.

The unemployment rate for April fell to 2.3%, the state announced Friday. Employers added 31,700 jobs over a year.

The unemployment rate rose slightly in January, but that's normal when businesses let holiday workers go.

Job growth slowed overall, but professional and business services added 18,400 jobs over the year.

The rate increased from 2.3% in May to 2.9% in June as college and high school grads sought work.

The rate fell to 2.2% while the average hourly wage in the Jacksonville area rose to $33.22 in April.

Workers are shifting away from jobs at hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues for higher-paying jobs in manufacturing, warehousing and logistics.

The area’s 3.3% unemployment in January is up from 2.6% in December, the lowest rate since at least 1998.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity on Tuesday announced that a formula used to determine the maximum number of weeks of benefits will revert from a pandemic-boosted 19 weeks to 12 weeks.

The area has recovered nearly all of the ground it lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.