Jacksonville jobless rates among lowest in Florida, continuing trend of declining unemployment

Jobless rates continue to fall from 2021's unemployment numbers statewide.

The unemployment rate in the Jacksonville area, which includes Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties, was 2.3% in April, according to data released from Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity in May.

The state unemployment rate was 3% in April, down from 3.2% in March. The Jacksonville metro area workforce saw an additional 39,600 people added from April 2021 and led in-job gains in professional and business services.

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St. Johns County had the second-lowest unemployment rate in the state in April at 1.7%, followed by Nassau County’s 1.9%. Clay County had a rate of 2%, and Duval County had 2.4%, down from 2.7% in March and 4.7% in April 2021.

Putnam County, which borders Clay and St. Johns counties but isn’t part of the Jacksonville metro area, had the state’s highest unemployment rate at 3.6%.

Florida’s unemployment rate has been better than the national average since December 2020. The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.6% in April.

April data indicates continued job growth with about 515,000 jobs posted online across the state, according to a Department of Economic Opportunity news release on May 20. The state’s total nonagricultural employment increased by 58,600 jobs in April, according to the release, for a 5.9% increase over the year. The national over-the-year rate was 4.6% in April.

The next release of unemployment numbers is scheduled for June 17.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: St. Johns County boasts lowest unemployment rate in Florida