Jacksonville’s unemployment rate edged lower in May but employers in the area continued to report a drop in their payrolls, the Florida Department of Commerce reported June 19.
The unemployment rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns County fell from 4.8% in April to 4.7% in May.
However, nonfarm employers in Northeast Florida reported a net decline of 3,000 jobs from May 2025 through May 2026, a 0.4% decrease.
The number of jobs has fallen every month this year. Excluding the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, these are the first declines in jobs in the region since 2010, when the economy was recovering from the Great Recession.
Although the unemployment rate was lower than April, the jobless rate in May was a full percentage point higher than the 3.7% rate in May 2025.
The biggest decline in jobs came in the financial activities sector which had a net loss of 3,600, or 5%, in the 12-month period.
Federal government jobs dropped by 1,800, or 9.3%, since May 2025. Government jobs began dropping in the spring of 2025 after cuts recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency.
Statewide, jobs rose by 0.1% but 11 of Florida’s 25 metropolitan areas reported a net decline, the Department of Commerce said.
The statewide unemployment was unchanged in May at a seasonally adjusted 4.8%.
The Department of Commerce does not adjust local area data for seasonal factors in its monthly reports.
All five counties in the Jacksonville area had a slight decline in unemployment last month, without seasonal adjustment.
Baker County had the highest jobless rate among the five counties in the metro area at 4.8% in May, while Nassau was the lowest at 4.5%.
Duval and Clay were both at 4.7% and St. Johns was at 4.6%.