Jacksonville’s unemployment rate remained steady in November at 2.5% for the third month in a row, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity reported Dec. 16.
The job growth rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties also was unchanged in November at 4.8%.
The unemployment rate in the area has been below 3% since February and hit a record low of 2.2% in April.
Duval County’s unemployment edged lower by 0.1 percentage point to 2.6% in November, the highest rate among the five counties in the metro area.
St. Johns County edged up by 0.1 point to 2.2% but remained tied with Okaloosa County for the third-lowest rate among Florida’s 67 counties behind Miami-Dade at 1.5% and Monroe at 1.6%.
The other three counties in the Jacksonville area were unchanged last month with Nassau at 2.3%, Clay at 2.4% and Baker at 2.5%.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted rate fell by 0.1 point in November to 2.6%. The Department of Economic Opportunity does not adjust the local area data for seasonal factors.
Nonfarm businesses in the Jacksonville area added 35,900 jobs from November 2021 through November 2022, with every major private industry sector reporting gains.
The construction industry, the only sector losing jobs in the October report, rebounded in November with a net gain of 700 jobs in the last 12 months, a 1.4% increase.
The industry has been impacted by rising interest rates in 2022.
The biggest job gains in the 12-month period came in professional and business services with 12,600, or 10.4%.
The leisure and hospitality sector also grew by 10.4% with a gain of 8,600 jobs.
The Jacksonville area’s 4.8% job growth rate in November was slightly better than Florida’s statewide growth of 4.7%.
Nationally, jobs rose by 3.3% in the 12-month period.