Brevard County's unemployment rate hit a record low of 2.2% in April, down from the previous record low of 2.5%, set just a month earlier. The rate was 4.2% in April 2021.

So what does this mean, and how does Brevard compare with the rest of the state and nation?

Here are 10 things to know about Brevard's record-low unemployment rate:

How many people are employed and unemployed in Brevard County?

The supply-and-demand equation shows lots of jobs waiting to be filled and relatively fewer job candidates out there, creating a job-seekers' market that is making it more difficult for employers

Overall workforce: 292,847 in April, down from 293,263 in March, and up from 286,691 in April 2021.

Employed: 286,361 in April, up from 285,948 in March, and 274,602 in April 2021.

When the previous record was set: 'Historically unprecedented': Brevard unemployment rate declines to 2.5% in March

Challenges for employers: With low unemployment rate, Brevard employers struggle to fill job openings

Unemployed: 6,486 in April, down from 7,315 in March, and 12,089 in April 2021. The number of unemployed people includes those who don't have a job, but are actively looking for work.

What are the statewide trends?

Overall workforce: 10,543,000 in April, up from 10,513,000 in March, and up from 10,234,000 in April 2021.

Employed: 10,222,000 in April, up from 10,174,000 in March, and up from 9,711,000 in April 2021.

Unemployed: 321,000 in April, down from 339,000 in March, and down from 523,000 in April 2021.

Unemployment rate: 3.0% in April, down from 3.2% in March and 5.1%in April 2021.

What kinds of records are being broken in Florida?

Adrienne Johnston, chief economist for the Florida Department of Employment Opportunity, says the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey or JOLTS data for Florida from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the state set monthly records for its three major metrics.

They are number of job openings (749,000), hirings (489,000) and voluntary quits (404,000).

Why is it a positive sign that more people are quitting their jobs?

Johnston said this is happening at the same time more people are entering the labor force and finding jobs.

The unemployment rate is decreasing, while labor force is increasing.

"Those things are happening at the same time that our quit numbers continue to grow," Johnston said during a briefing on the latest jobs data. "What that means is people are confident that they will find opportunities if they quit their current job, and it's really a reflection of churn. So it's not people moving out of the labor force. It's not people who are discouraged. It's people who are actually encouraged. They feel that like there are opportunities to find other work and perhaps improve their career."

What industries are gaining and losing jobs in Brevard?

According to CareerSource Brevard, the industries gaining in jobs over the past year were leisure and hospitality (2,000 jobs); trade, transportation and utilities (1,900 jobs); professional and business services (1,100 jobs); manufacturing (800 jobs); total government (800 jobs); other services (500 jobs); information (300 jobs); financial activities (200 jobs); and education and health services (200 jobs).

The only major industry sector to lose jobs during that time frame was construction mining and logging, down 800 jobs.

How does Florida's job count compare with pre-pandemic numbers?

Florida lost 1,282,500 jobs from February to April 2020, and has since gained back all jobs lost and more (1,499,600 jobs).

Is there a concern that statewide leisure and hospitality numbers have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, with the level of jobs in that sector is 4.7% below what they were in February 2020?

Johnston said she is not overly concerned about that.

"We're still continuing to see strong growth in that industry," Johnston said. "And we're seeing it across the state in different metro areas."

Johnston said Florida is seeing strong economic growth in leisure and hospitality and strong visitor counts.

"So we know that the industry overall is performing very well, and that there's a lot of productivity in that industry," Johnston said. "We just haven't quite gotten back to where we were with jobs, but we continue to make progress in that area."

How does Brevard County rank, compared with other counties and metropolitan areas in Florida?

At 2.2%, Brevard County was tied for having the 21st-lowest unemployment rate among the state's 67 counties in April. It was tied for having the sixth-lowest unemployment rate among the state's 24 metropolitan areas and divisions.

In April, Monroe County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate (1.5%); followed by St. Johns County (1.7%); and Collier, Gulf, Nassau, Okaloosa and Union counties (1.9 % each).

Putnam County had the highest unemployment rate (3.6%), followed by Highlands County (3.5%), Hamilton County (3.4%), and Citrus, Hendry and Osceola counties (3.3% each).

Among Florida's metro areas, the lowest unemployment rate was 1,9% in both Crestview/Fort Walton Beach/Destin and Naples/Immokalee/Marco Island.

The highest rate was 3.5% in Sebring, which also was the only one of the 24 metro areas to suffer a job loss over the last year.

What are the unemployment trends in to Brevard's cities?

The DEO tracks unemployment rates for Brevard's five most populous cities. All set or tied record lows for their unemployment rates in April.

The data dates back to 1991 for Melbourne, Palm Bay, Rockledge and Titusville, and back to 2021 for West Melbourne.

Here are those numbers:

• Melbourne: 2.3% in April, down from 2.7% in March. The rate peaked at 13.0% in April 2020 and was 2.7% just before the pandemic in February 2020.

• Palm Bay: 2.6% in April, down from 2.9% in March. The rate peaked at 12.6% in April 2020 and was 2.8% just before the pandemic in February 2020.

• Rockledge: 2.0% in April, down from 2.3% in March.  The rate peaked at 11.5% in April 2020 and was 2.6% just before the pandemic in February 2020.

• Titusville: 2.6% in April, down from 2.7% in March. The rate peaked at 14.5% in April 2020 and was 2.9% just before the pandemic in February 2020.

• West Melbourne: 2.0% in April, down from 2.2% in March. Data for West Melbourne was not tracked separately in 2020.

How is the state performing, compared with the nation as a whole?

State officials point to data that indicate Florida is outperforming the nation as a whole. For example:

• Florida employers have added jobs for 24 consecutive months, and the state unemployment rate has remained below the national rate for 17 consecutive months.

• Florida’s April unemployment rate of 3.0% was lower than the national rate of 3.6%.

• In April, Florida’s labor force grew by 3.0% over the year, compared with the nationwide labor force growth of 1.9% during that time frame.

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bydaveberman.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Here are 10 things to know about Brevard record-low unemployment