Florida’s unemployment rate rose slightly in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian but Jacksonville’s jobless rate remained steady in October, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity reported Nov. 18.
The unemployment rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties was 2.5% last month, the same as September.
Jacksonville area nonfarm businesses added 35,700 jobs from October 2021 through October 2022, a 4.8% growth rate.
Florida’s statewide unemployment rate rose from a seasonally adjusted 2.5% in September to 2.7% in October. The Department of Economic Opportunity does not adjust the monthly data for Jacksonville and other metropolitan areas for seasonal factors.
Two metro areas in Southwest Florida, which were hit hard by Hurricane Ian in late September, had big jumps in unemployment in October.
The Cape Coral-Fort Myers area rate rose from by 1.3 percentage points to 3.9% and Punta Gorda rose a full point to 4%.
Two of the five counties in the Jacksonville metro area reported 0.1-point increases in the jobless rate last month, with Duval County rising to 2.7% and Clay to 2.4%.
The other three counties were unchanged with Baker at 2.5%, Nassau at 2.3% and St. Johns at 2.1%.
St. Johns County had the third-lowest rate in the state among Florida’s 67 counties, with only Monroe and Miami-Dade reporting lower rates at 1.7% each.
Nearly every major industry sector in the Jacksonville area has increased jobs in the past year. The construction industry was the exception, with a net loss of 900 jobs from October 2021 through October 2022, a 1.8% decline.
The biggest gains in the 12-month period came in the professional and business service sector, which added 12,700 jobs, a 10.6% rise.
The leisure and hospitality sector added 9,400 but had the biggest percentage gain, at 11.6%.
Jacksonville’s 4.8% job growth rate was lower than Florida’s statewide 5% growth rate.