For the first time since the end of 2024, Florida’s unemployment rate went down last month.<\/p>\n
\nA report released Friday by the Department of Commerce shows the state’s jobless rate for June at 4.7%, a reduction from 4.8% the prior two months. The rate is still 0.5 percentage points higher than the national average.<\/p>\n
\nDriven by increases in restaurant, hotel, health care, transportation, and warehousing jobs last month, the state saw an 11,100 increase, 0.1%, in overall new positions from May to June.<\/p>\n
\nThe June numbers show 525,000 Floridians qualified as out-of-work, up 107,000 from a year earlier, from a workforce of 11.14 million, up 56,000 in the same time.<\/p>\n
\nThe state’s unemployment rate had been on a gradual upward trend since ticking down from 3.5% in November 2024 to 3.4% in December 2024.<\/p>\n
\nNationally, the jobless rate stands at 4.2%, up from 4.1% a year earlier.<\/p>\n
\nEven with the one-month decline, the state’s unemployment rate stands 0.9 percentage points higher than a year ago.<\/p>\n
\nConstruction jobs have decreased by 3,200 over the past year, including a 900 drop from May to June. Positions in the retail trade were up 100 from May to June but still are down 5,900 from a year earlier.<\/p>\n
\nThe field of finance and insurance reported adding 1,600 positions in the past month, but is still down 8,700 over the year.<\/p>\n
\nReal estate jobs dropped by 1,000 and are down 4,200 over the last 12 months.<\/p>\n
\nGovernments in Florida shed 900 jobs in the past month and 10,500 over the year, with the federal government accounting for 7,700 of the decrease over the past year.<\/p>\n
\nThe biggest gain over the past year involved health care and social assistance, adding 5,500 in the past month and 32,400 on the year.<\/p>\n
\nThe area of transportation, warehousing, and utilities grew by 4,100 in June, which put the field at a positive 900 over the past year.<\/p>\n
\nManufacturing is up 400 on the year after reporting the addition of 600 positions in June.<\/p>\n
\nEducational services, which are up 6,600 jobs on the year, posted a drop of 500 jobs in the June report.<\/p>\n
\nHotel and food service jobs grew by 4,000 in the June report but remain down 2,700 from a year earlier.<\/p>\n
\nSouth Florida continues to have the lowest unemployment rate, with the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan statistical area at 3.9%, up from a revised 3.7% in May and 3.3% in June 2025.<\/p>\n
\nThe Orlando and Panama City regions were next at 4.6%.<\/p>\n
\nThe Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area was at 4.7%. Jacksonville, Naples and Melbourne were at 4.8%. Pensacola and Sarasota both stood at 4.9%.<\/p>\n
\nTallahassee has a 5 % unemployment rate, followed by Daytona Beach at 5.3%, Gainesville at 5.5%, Vero Beach at 5.6% and Lakeland at 5.7%.<\/p>\n
\nThe Wildwood region, including The Villages has the highest unemployment rate at 7.8%, followed by Homosassa Springs at 6.7% and Sebring at 6.6%.
\n<\/p>\n
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