Unemployment falls across Northeast Florida – Jacksonville Today

Unemployment fell slightly across Northeast Florida in May, at a time when it usually rises.

The unemployment rate for the Jacksonville area fell to 3.0%, down from 3.2% in April, according to new data from the Florida Department of Commerce. Unemployment still was higher than the 2.8% a year earlier.

The jobless rate fell in every county in Northeast Florida: to 3.0% in Baker County, 2.9% in Clay County, 3.1% in Duval County, 2.8% in Nassau County, 3.7% in Putnam County and 2.7% in St. Johns County

The jobless rate traditionally rises in May as new college graduates enter the labor force, which consists of people with jobs and people actively looking work.

The number of employed people in Northeast Florida rose from 819,932 in April to 820,729 in May, but unemployment also fell partly because the labor force shrank — from 847,207 in April to 845,897 in May.

The education and health services sector gained the most jobs in the Jacksonville area over the past year — 5,800, according to Department of Commerce data. That was followed by leisure and hospitality, 3,500; government, 3,200; trade, transportation and utilities, 2,800; and mining, logging and construction, 2,200.

The area lost 1,800 jobs in professional and business services and 700 in financial activities.

CareerSource Northeast Florida said it received over 1,800 job postings from employers in May. The most-advertised occupations included first-line supervisors of retail salespeople (1,591 positions); retail salespeople (1,511 positions); medical and health services managers (975); sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services and travel (964); and
registered nurses (957).

CareerSource hosts “Recruitment Wednesdays” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Wednesday at its Southside Career Center, 11268 Beach Blvd. Job seekers can meet with three to six employers hiring for current job openings.

CareerSource also will host two in-person recruitment events in July:

• July 10 and July 22: Baker Correctional Institute at Baker County Career Center.
• July 15: Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at the Clay County Career Center.

For more information on recruitment events and workshops for job seekers and employers, go to
https://careersourcenortheastflorida.com/events.