Jacksonville’s unemployment rate jumped higher in May, likely due to the normal seasonal trend of new college graduates entering the work force.
The unemployment rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area — consisting of Duval, Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties — rose from 5.2 percent in April to 5.5 percent in May, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity said Friday
The jobless rate usually rises in May and June because of students entering the labor force, either looking for full-time work or summer jobs.
But according to the University of North Florida’s Local Economic Indicators Project (LEIP), even when adjusted for seasonal factors, the Jacksonville area unemployment rate rose from 5.4 percent to 5.69 percent.
“It’s not unexpected,” said UNF economist Paul Mason. He pointed out that the number of people in the labor force, measuring people either with jobs or actively looking for work, rose by almost 7,000 last month.
“That’s why it’s pretty obvious that it’s a seasonal effect,” Mason said.
The level of employment actually rose by about 4,500 people but because not all of those 7,000 new entrants were able to find jobs, the unemployment rate rose.
Duval County’s unemployment rate rose from 5.6 percent in April to 5.9 percent in May, according to the Department of Economic Opportunity, which does not adjust local data for seasonal factors.
LEIP reported when the data is adjusted, it actually shows Duval County’s jobless rate falling by 0.1-point to 5.7 percent in May.
Mason said there may be a statistical anomaly that explains why Duval County’s rate fell and the full metropolitan area’s jobless rate rose when the data was seasonally adjusted.
Two Northeast Florida counties that have been at the extreme ends of the state’s labor market in recent months continued those trends in May.
St. Johns County’s unemployment rate rose from 3.8 percent to 4 percent (unadjusted), but it still had the second-lowest jobless rate in the state last month behind the 3.8 percent rate for Monroe County.
Putnam County, which has had the highest unemployment rate in the state, rose again in May from 7.3 percent to 7.6 percent, but it did fall to third highest. Hendry County had the highest unemployment rate last month at 8.6 percent.
Florida’s statewide unemployment rate rose by 0.1-point to a seasonally-adjusted 5.7 percent in May, the Department of Economic Opportunity said.
A separate survey of business payrolls by the state agency found that Jacksonville has added 13,200 non-farm jobs from May 2014 through May 2015, a 2.1 percent growth rate.
The biggest job growth has been in the retail trade and leisure and hospitality sectors, both up 6.4 percent in the 12-month period.
The biggest jobs losses have been in the information sector, which was down 4.3 percent.