Jacksonville\u2019s unemployment rate jumped higher in January with Northeast Florida businesses reporting a net loss of jobs over the previous year, the Florida Department of Commerce reported April 8.<\/p>\n
The labor market data was the worst for the Jacksonville area since the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
Excluding the pandemic, the last time Jacksonville businesses reported a net decline in jobs was June 2010 as the economy was recovering from the so-called \u201cGreat Recession\u201d which lasted from December 2007 through June 2009.<\/p>\n
The unemployment rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties rose from 4.7% in December 2025 to 5.2% in January, the Department of Commerce said.<\/p>\n
That was the highest jobless rate since it was also 5.2% in November 2020. Jacksonville-area nonfarm businesses reported a net decline of 3,900 jobs from January 2024 through January 2025, a 0.5% decrease.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville\u2019s drop in jobs mirrored a statewide trend, as Florida had a 0.2% decline in jobs in the 12-month period.<\/p>\n
Florida\u2019s unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to a seasonally adjusted 4.5% in January.<\/p>\n
The Department of Commerce does not provide seasonally adjusted data for local areas in its monthly reports.<\/p>\n
All five counties in the Jacksonville metro area experienced a rise in the unemployment rate with Clay County the highest at 5.3%, followed by Duval at 5.2%.<\/p>\n
The other three counties were all at 5.1%.<\/p>\n
For the entire area, the labor force \u2013 comprising people with jobs or actively looking for employment \u2013 fell by more than 4,000 to 840,540.<\/p>\n
The number of people who said they were unemployed but looking for work rose by more than 4,000 to 43,821.<\/p>\n
The decline in jobs reported by Northeast Florida businesses was widespread among most industry sectors.<\/p>\n
The biggest losses came in the professional and business services sector, which declined by 3,600 in the 12 months through January, followed by 3,100 in the financial activities sector.<\/p>\n
Government jobs dropped by 2,700.<\/p>\n
Only two major industry sectors reported increases in jobs. The private education and health services sector rose by 5,300 in the 12 months and leisure and hospitality rose by 2,300.<\/p>\n
The Department of Commerce\u2019s January report is delayed every year because the agency makes revisions to previous year\u2019s data. This year\u2019s report was further delayed because of federal government shutdowns.<\/p>\n
The state\u2019s labor market report for February is scheduled for release April 17.<\/p>\n
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