Jacksonville’s unemployment rate edged lower in March, with modest growth in jobs across most industry sectors.
The jobless rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties fell from 3.8% in February to 3.6% last month, the Florida Department of Commerce reported April 18.
All five counties in the metro area registered 0.2 percentage point declines last month. The unemployment rate in Baker, Clay and Duval counties was 3.6% and Nassau and St. Johns counties were at 3.5%.
Nonagricultural businesses in Jacksonville added 10,500 jobs to their payrolls from March 2024 through March 2025, a 1.3% growth rate.
The growth rate has been below 2% since April 2024 but nearly every major industry sector reported a net gain in jobs over the 12-month period.
The only industry reporting a large decline has been the financial activities sector which lost 3,900 jobs, a 5.2% drop.
Manufacturing jobs also declined by 300, or 0.8%.
The largest gains came in the combined sector of private education and health services, which added 6,200 jobs, a 4.8% increase.
Three sectors added 1,800 jobs each led by construction, where those jobs represented a 3.5% gain; professional, scientific and technical services, which had a 3.2% gain; and accommodation and food services, which grew 2.3%.
Amid continued discussion about budget cuts, federal and state government jobs were unchanged from February to March.
Federal jobs grew by 400 in the 12 months through March but state government jobs declined by 500.
Florida’s statewide unemployment was unchanged in March at a seasonally adjusted 3.6%.
The Department of Commerce does not adjust local area data in its monthly reports.