Florida Department of Commerce reports uptick in state’s unemployment rate, highest level in 2 years

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The latest data from the Florida Department of Commerce reveals a slight uptick in the state’s unemployment rate, reaching 3.2%—matching its highest level in two years. This shift follows a steady three-month plateau at 3.1%, signaling a subtle evolution in employment dynamics.

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In mid-March, approximately 353,000 individuals in Florida were unemployed and actively seeking employment, marking an increase of 8,000 from the previous month.

During the same period, the state’s labor force grew by 7,000 to reach a total of 11.097 million.

Jimmy Heckman, the Department of Commerce’s chief of workforce statistics and economic research stated “Population growth is a big driver of all the growth we are seeing in Florida. That just creates more opportunities and more demand for goods and services, which creates more opportunities for businesses, which creates more demand for labor.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 303,000 people in Florida left their jobs in February, marking one of the highest rates in the country and a 35,000 increase from the previous month.

However, job openings also surged during this period, reaching 557,000—an increase of 20,000 from the previous month.

During a conference call with reporters Friday, Heckman said, “There are a lot of people that are confident in their ability to find jobs out there in the labor market. We are seeing a couple of different things that point to that and there is a lot of demand for labor right now.”

Florida’s employment landscape exhibited resilience, with a gain of 211,100 jobs—a 2.2% increase over the year, outpacing the national growth rate of 1.9%, as reported by the state commerce department.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Florida was the only state to experience an increase in unemployment rates from February to March, while six states witnessed a decline.

The national unemployment rate has been hovering between 3.7% and 3.9% since August 2023, remaining below 4% for over 40 months.

READ: The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits holds steady as the labor market remains strong

However, this economic momentum isn’t uniform across Florida’s sectors.

While healthcare and social assistance jobs surged by 12,900, construction saw an uptick of 3,600 positions.

On the other hand, food service and accommodations experienced a slight downturn, shedding 1,600 jobs. Additionally, real estate jobs declined by 2,200, manufacturing was off by 1,600, and positions involving transportation, warehousing, and utilities were down by 4,700.

Geographically, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan area continues to boast the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 2.7 %, while the Homosassa Springs region grapples with a higher rate of 5.1 %.

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