Jacksonville’s unemployment rate jumped in November to its highest level since the coronavirus pandemic, the Florida Department of Commerce reported Jan. 7.
The jobless rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties rose from 4.3% in September to 5.1% in November.
Data for October is not available because the monthly survey of households used to determine the unemployment rate was not conducted that month, due to the federal government shutdown.
The November unemployment rate was the highest in Northeast Florida since January 2021. It was also 5.1% then as the economy was recovering from the pandemic.
Clay County’s unemployment rate was 5.2% in November, while the other four counties in the metro area were all at 5.1%.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose from 3.9% in September to 4.2% in November.
The Department of Commerce does not adjust data for local areas for seasonal factors in its monthly reports. Without seasonal adjustment, Florida’s statewide jobless rate was at 4.9% in November, closer to the Jacksonville rate.
While the unemployment rate rose, the agency’s survey of nonfarm businesses showed a pickup in job growth in the Jacksonville area in November.
Businesses added 10,500 jobs from November 2024 through November 2025, a 1.3% growth rate.
That’s up from Jacksonville’s September growth rate of 0.9% and also higher than Florida’s statewide growth rate of 0.8% in November.
Much of the increase in Jacksonville came from the category of private education and health services, which added 9,500 jobs in the 12-month period, a 7% growth rate.
Other large private sector gains came from the professional, scientific and technical services sector, which added 1,300 jobs, or 2.2%, and the leisure and hospitality sector, which increased by 1,000, or 1.1%.
Several industry sectors reported job losses in the 12-month period, with the biggest in the category of administrative and support and waste management and remediation services, which fell by 700, or 1.3%.
The wholesale trade sector fell by 700, or 1.7%, and financial activities declined by 400, or 0.7%.