Jacksonville’s job losses continued in February for the second straight month, but the unemployment rate fell slightly from January’s post-coronavirus pandemic high.
The unemployment rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties fell from 5.2% in January to 5% in February, the Florida Department of Commerce reported April 17.
The January rate was the highest since it was also 5.2% in November 2020.
Nonagricultural employers in the metro area reported a net decline of 3,500 jobs from February 2025 through February 2026, a 0.4% decrease in the 12-month period.
The annualized declines in jobs were the first for the area since the pandemic. Excluding the impact of coronavirus-related shutdowns, they were the first drops in jobs since 2010.
Florida had a statewide 0.4% decrease in jobs in February, also the second straight monthly decline.
The state’s unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point in February to a seasonally adjusted 4.6%.
The Department of Commerce does not provide seasonally adjusted data for local areas in its monthly reports on the labor market.
All five counties in the Jacksonville area had a slight decline in the unemployment rate in February, without adjustment.
Nassau County had the lowest jobless rate at 4.9%, with Baker and St. Johns at 5% and Duval and Clay at 5.1%.
The February job losses in the metro area included a big decline in federal government jobs, which fell by 2,100 in the 12-month period, a 10.1% drop.
The biggest private sector job losses were in financial activities which fell by 2,600, or 3.6%. The trade, transportation and utilities sector lost 1,400 jobs, or 0.8%.
Those job losses were offset by a 2,600 increase in the private education and health services sector, a 1.9% gain.
The leisure and hospitality sector added 1,800 jobs, or 2%.