Jacksonville’s unemployment rate was unchanged in February, while job growth ticked up slightly.
The jobless rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties was 3.3% in February, the same as January, the Florida Department of Commerce reported March 22.
Duval County’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.4% last month, the highest of the five counties in the metro area.
St. Johns County was the lowest at 3%, with Nassau at 3.1%, Baker at 3.2% and Clay at 3.3%.
Florida’s statewide unemployment was unchanged in February at a seasonally adjusted 3.1%.
The Department of Commerce does not adjust local area data for seasonal factors in its monthly reports but the statewide rate before adjustment was also unchanged at 3.1%.
Nonagricultural employers in the Jacksonville metro area added 16,000 jobs from February 2023 through February 2024, a 2% growth rate.
That was slightly higher than the January growth rate of 1.9%.
The biggest gains in jobs in Northeast Florida came in the private education and health services sector, which added 5,100 jobs in the 12-month period, a 4.1% growth rate.
The leisure and hospitality sector added 4,300 jobs, or 4.8%.
The biggest decline in jobs came in the administrative and support and waste management and remediation services sector, with a net loss of 1,400 jobs, or 2.4%.
Finance and insurance lost 500 jobs, or 0.8%.
Jacksonville lagged behind Florida’s statewide growth rate of 2.3% in the 12 months through February.