Jacksonville’s unemployment rate edged lower in April, with more people who were actively seeking work able to find jobs.
The unemployment rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties fell from 3.6% in March to 3.5% in April, the Florida Department of Commerce reported May 16.
The region’s labor force of 855,862, consisting of people with jobs or actively searching for a job, was basically unchanged from March. However, the number of people employed rose by about 1,000 in April to 825,533, so the jobless rate declined.
Duval County had the highest unemployment rate among the five counties at 3.6%, unchanged from March.
Baker and Clay counties both had 0.1 percentage point declines in the rate to 3.5% in April.
St. Johns County was unchanged at 3.5% and Nassau County was unchanged at 3.4%, the lowest rate in the metropolitan area.
Florida’s statewide unemployment rate edge up by 0.1 point to a seasonally adjusted 3.7% in April.
The Department of Commerce does not adjust local area data for seasonal factors in its monthly reports on the labor market.
Although more people were employed in April, the job growth rate for the Jacksonville area remained relatively slow.
The Department of Commerce said nonfarm businesses added 10,100 jobs from April 2024 through April 2025, a 1.3% growth rate.
The biggest growth in jobs came from the private education and health services sector which added 6,900 jobs in the 12-month period, a 5.3% growth rate.
Construction was also strong, adding 2,000 jobs, or 3.8%.
However, two key industry sectors continued to lose jobs.
Financial activities declined by 4,000, or 5.3%, and manufacturing fell by 300, or 0.8%.
The broad category of administrative and support and waste management and remediation services also lost jobs, declining by 1,300, or 2.4%.
Florida’s statewide job growth rate was slightly higher at 1.5% from April 2024 through April 2025.