Jacksonville’s unemployment rate fell in November for the fourth-straight month, reaching the lowest level on record.
The jobless rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area (Duval, Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties) dropped from 2.8% in October to 2.6% last month, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity said Friday.
That’s the lowest unemployment rate in the area since at least 1990, according to the department’s data.
All five counties in the metro area were below 3% with St. Johns County the lowest at 2.2%. That also was the second-lowest unemployment rate in the state behind Monroe County, which was at 1.8% in November.
Duval County’s unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 2.8% last month.
Job growth in the metro area was strong, with Northeast Florida nonfarm businesses adding 24,400 jobs from November 2018 through November 2019, a 3.4% increase.
The strongest growth in the 12-month period came in the professional, scientific and technical services sector which reported a net gain of 6,300 jobs, or 14%.
Other big gains came in leisure and hospitality, up 5,400 or 6.3%, and construction, up 4,000 or 9.1%.
Job growth was widespread across industries with a couple of notable exceptions.
The transportation, warehousing and utilities sector had a net loss of 1,600 jobs in the 12-month period, or 4.1%, and retail trade lost 1,500 jobs, or 1.6%.
Jacksonville's job growth was better than Florida's statewide growth rate of 2.5% in the past year.
Florida's unemployment rate fell by 0.1 point to a seasonally adjusted 3.1% in November.
The Department of Economic Opportunity does not adjust the Jacksonville area data for seasonal factors.