JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida’s jobless rate ticked up in February for the second straight month, according to numbers released Friday by the state Department of Economic Opportunity.
The 3.5 percent unemployment rate represents 357,000 Floridians out of jobs from a workforce of 10.34 million. The state’s unemployment rate was 3.4 percent in January.
With drops in jobs involving transportation, warehousing and utilities and information fields, 5,000 more Floridians were out of work in February than in the January estimate. During the first two months of the year, the number of unemployed people in Florida grew by 12,000.
The February jobless number, however, is 37,000 fewer than a year earlier. The state rate remains below the national unemployment rate of 3.8 percent, which was down from 4 percent in January.
According to the DEO report, the Jacksonville area added 6,200 new private-sector jobs in the past year. The industry with the highest growth over the year in Northeast Florida was education and health services, with 3,100 new jobs.
Across the state, a noticeable change in the February numbers is that the Panama City metropolitan statistical area no longer held the highest unemployment rate. The area’s 5.1 percent mark equaled The Villages metropolitan statistical area and was lower than the 5.3 percent of the Homosassa Springs region. The Homosassa Springs metropolitan statistical area was at 5.9 percent in January.
The Panhandle region including Panama City had posted the highest unemployment rate since it was hit by Hurricane Michael in October. Its number dropped from 6.1 percent in January. On a county basis, Gulf County, which is east of Panama City and sustained heavy damage in Hurricane Michael, had the highest rate in February at 6.2 percent. Bay County, which includes Panama City, fell from 6 percent in January to 5 percent in the latest numbers, putting it below the 5.3 percent for Citrus County and 5.1 percent for Hardee and Sumter counties.
At the other end, Monroe County maintained the lowest unemployment rate at 2.4 percent, down from 2.8 percent in January. Monroe County was followed by St. Johns County at 2.9 percent and Okaloosa and Wakulla counties at 3 percent.
By the numbers: Where the jobs are
From the Keys to the Panhandle, the jobs picture in Florida varies.
Here’s how the counties stacked up in the unemployment figures for February released Friday by the state Department of Economic Opportunity:
Monroe County: 2.4 percent
St. Johns County: 2.9 percent
Okaloosa County: 3.0 percent
Wakulla County: 3.0 percent
Collier County: 3.1 percent
Lafayette County: 3.1 percent
Orange County: 3.1 percent
Seminole County: 3.1 percent
Walton County: 3.1 percent
Alachua County: 3.2 percent
Bradford County: 3.2 percent
Leon County: 3.2 percent
Miami-Dade County: 3.2 percent
Nassau County: 3.2 percent
Santa Rosa County: 3.2 percent
Union County: 3.2 percent
Baker County: 3.3 percent
Broward County: 3.3 percent
Clay County: 3.3 percent
Hillsborough County: 3.3 percent
Lee County: 3.3 percent
Manatee County: 3.3 percent
Pinellas County: 3.3 percent
Martin County: 3.4 percent
Palm Beach County: 3.4 percent
Sarasota County: 3.4 percent
*STATE: 3.4 percent
Brevard County: 3.5 percent
Columbia County: 3.5 percent
Duval County: 3.5 percent
Escambia County: 3.5 percent
Lake County: 3.5 percent
Osceola County: 3.5 percent
Gilchrist County: 3.7 percent
Jefferson County: 3.7 percent
Okeechobee County: 3.7 percent
Suwannee County: 3.7 percent
Taylor County: 3.7 percent
Volusia County: 3.7 percent
DeSoto County: 3.8 percent
Pasco County: 3.8 percent
Charlotte County: 3.9 percent
Glades County: 3.9 percent
Holmes County: 3.9 percent
Indian River County: 3.9 percent
Polk County: 3.9 percent
Washington County: 3.9 percent
Dixie County: 4.0 percent
Flagler County: 4.0 percent
Levy County: 4.0 percent
Liberty County: 4.0 percent
Jackson County: 4.1 percent
Madison County: 4.1 percent
Marion County: 4.2 percent
St. Lucie County: 4.2 percent
Franklin County: 4.4 percent
Gadsden County: 4.4 percent
Calhoun County: 4.6 percent
Hernando County: 4.6 percent
Putnam County: 4.6 percent
Hamilton County: 4.7 percent
Highlands County: 4.8 percent
Bay County: 5.0 percent
Hendry County: 5.0 percent
Hardee County: 5.1 percent
Sumter County: 5.1 percent
Citrus County: 5.3 percent
Gulf County: 6.2 percent
*The county unemployment rates and the 3.4 percent state rate are not seasonally adjusted. The state’s seasonally adjusted rate, which is often used for monthly statewide comparisons, was 3.5 percent in February.