Florida jobless rate at 3 percent

The state Commerce Department on Friday released a report that said Florida had a 3 percent jobless rate in December, with an estimated 334,000 Floridians out of work from a labor force of 11.194 million.

The rate was up from 2.9 percent in November and 2.7 percent in December 2022, when the number of people out of work was estimated at 291,000 from a labor force of 10.84 million.

The Commerce Department said in a news release that the new data showed Florida “continued to outperform the nation throughout the year. despite negative national headwinds caused by failed federal economic policies.”

The national unemployment rate was 3.7 percent in December and has been under 4 percent for 23 months.

When the national rate was updated on Jan. 5, the White House said 2023 “was a strong year for jobs, labor supply, and wage growth. Combined with the past few years, the data reveal a uniquely strong labor-market-bounce-back from the pandemic-induced recession.”

After spending the first half of 2023 at 2.6 percent, Florida’s rate slowly rose starting in July. The state’s record low was 2.4 percent during the housing boom of 2006.

Jimmy Heckman, the Department of Commerce’s chief of workforce statistics and economic research, told reporters Friday that officials “see, across all of our industry sectors, a lot of our sectors recover that had lost jobs earlier in the year.”

“We are not seeing anything that is concentrated in one particular industry, that would lead us to think this is kind of a change in trend,” Heckman said. “It’s really more of a moderation from the record lows that we saw earlier in the year.”

Private-sector employment in Florida increased 2.6 percent over the past year, including 5.5 percent in a category of education and health services. Employment in a category that includes trade, transportation, and utilities were up 3 percent.

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan statistical area had the state’s lowest unemployment rate in December at 2.4 percent. Within that area, the Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall region was at 1.6 percent.

The Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin area was at 2.7 percent, while the Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island area was at 2.8 percent and the Jacksonville area was at 2.9 percent.

The Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Panama City and Tallahassee areas were at 3 percent.

The highest rate was 4.5 percent in the Homosassa Springs area, followed by the Sebring area and The Villages area at 4.3 percent.

The statewide unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted, while rates for the metropolitan statistical areas are not adjusted.