After a January spike in the jobless rate, Jacksonville’s unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 3.4 percent in February, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity said Friday.
However, job growth in Northeast Florida slowed, due in part to a significant drop-off in construction employment.
The Department of Economic Opportunity does not adjust the local data for seasonal factors, and January’s rise in unemployment was a normal seasonal trend after businesses take on temporary workers for the Christmas holiday season.
While unemployment fell last month, job growth was weak for the second straight month. The number of jobs on nonfarm business payrolls in the Jacksonville area grew by 7,400 from February 2018 through February 2019, a 1.1 percent growth rate.
That matched the 1.1 percent annual growth rate reported in January for the Jacksonville metropolitan area, which consists of Duval, Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties.
The labor market was impacted by a decline in construction jobs, which fell by 600, or 1.3 percent, from February 2018 through February 2019.
As the housing market rebounded from the financial crisis of 2007-08, construction jobs began growing at a strong rate in recent years. The year-over-year growth in construction peaked at 15 percent in March 2018.
February marked the first year-over-year decline in construction jobs since 2012.
The biggest job losses through February in Northeast Florida came in financial activities, which fell by 1,400, or 2.1 percent, in the 12-month period.
Another sector with large job losses was administration and support and waste services, which declined by 1,100, or 2 percent.
The biggest private sector growth sectors in February were education and health services, up 3,100 or 2.9 percent; professional, scientific and technical services, up 2,100 or 4.6 percent; and wholesale trade, up 1,000 or 4 percent.
Jacksonville’s job growth in February was lagging behind Florida’s statewide growth rate of 2.4 percent, and the national increase of 1.7 percent in the 12-month period.
Florida’s unemployment rate had a similar drop as Jacksonville’s in February before seasonal adjustment. But when seasonal patterns are factored in, the statewide unemployment rate actually rose by 0.1 point to 3.5 percent, the Department of Economic Opportunity said.
Duval County’s unemployment rate fell from 3.9 percent in January to 3.5 percent in February, without seasonal adjustment.
St. Johns County continued to have one of the lowest unemployment rates in Florida, falling by 0.5 points last month to 2.9 percent. Only Monroe County was lower, at 2.4 percent.
The other three counties in the metro area also had jobless rates below Florida’s statewide rate in February. Nassau County was at 3.2 percent, and Baker and Clay counties were both at 3.3 percent.
