Unemployment rises in North Central Florida, stays steady statewide

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB/NSF) – Florida’s unemployment rate held steady in June for a third consecutive month, as baby-boomer retirements affect the size of the labor force and the hospitality industry has shed some jobs.

The Florida Department of Commerce on Friday released a report that said the state’s June unemployment rate was 3.3 percent, unchanged from April and May.

In North Central Florida, joblessness rose in all counties. Marion and Union counties had the largest increase in unemployment, up 0.8 percent from May.

Alachua County reported a rate of 3.9 percent and Columbia County reported 4.0 percent.

During the three months, the state’s labor force of 11.07 million people lost 27,000 participants, including a reduction of 13,000 from May to June. The estimated number of people out of work remained at 361,000 in June.

Jimmy Heckman, the department’s chief of workforce statistics and economic research, attributed the decrease in the labor force primarily to retirements, while saying workforce participation remains strong among people ages 25 to 54.

“We’ve looked at things like discouraged workers, workers that feel like there’s no opportunities out there for them. Those numbers have remained really, really low over the past 12 months,” Heckman said during a conference call with reporters.

In June, the largest employment drop was in the category of leisure and hospitality, which lost 14,700 positions. The majority lost involved jobs in hotels and food services.

Heckman said Orlando, which typically adds hospitality jobs in June, posted a reduction for the month, while coastal areas of the Panhandle were slower in hiring than usual.

“Despite the drop-off in June over the year, we’re still seeing there are more jobs in that sector in Florida than there were in June last year,” Heckman said. “So, that point is still a little bit of a washout in terms of what we’ve seen over the past year.”

The leisure-and-hospitality category in June was up 16,700 positions from a year earlier. The overall labor force grew by 66,000 people from June 2023.

With the national unemployment rate in June at 4.1 percent, Florida was one of 41 states where rates did not change from May. Rates in 8 states — Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Georgia, Minnesota, and Utah — went up. Connecticut’s rate went down.

Florida’s rate was at 3.2 percent in March and 3.1 percent in the three previous months. Florida had a 2.8 percent jobless rate in June 2023.

Employment in Florida’s construction industry increased by 3,400 jobs from May to June, while a broad category of education and health services added 5,500 jobs. Another broadly defined category of trade, transportation and utilities was up 4,300 jobs.

Across Florida, the lowest unemployment rate in June was 3.1 percent in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan statistical area, though that was up from 2.6 percent in May.

The Crestview-Fort Walton-Beach Destin area was at 3.2 percent, while the Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island and Panama City areas were at 3.3 percent.

The highest rate was in the Homosassa Springs area at 5.2 percent, up from 4.5 percent a month earlier. Sebring was at 5.1 percent, up from 4.2 percent in May.

The statewide rate is seasonally adjusted, while the metro rates are not adjusted.

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