Jacksonville’s unemployment rate rose in November but the metro area had one of the lowest jobless rates in the state.
The unemployment rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area of Duval, Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties rose from 4.8% in October to 5.2% in November, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity reported Dec. 18.
Only four of Florida’s metro areas had lower jobless rates and Jacksonville was the lowest of the state’s major cities.
Jacksonville was well below Florida’s statewide unemployment, which was unchanged last month at a seasonally adjusted 6.4%.
The Department of Economic Opportunity does not adjust the Jacksonville data for seasonal factors. University of North Florida economist Albert Loh said when the data is seasonally adjusted, it also shows a gain in the Jacksonville area from 4.96% in October to 5.22% in November.
Duval County’s unemployment rate rose from 5.5% in October to 5.8% in November, according to the Department of Economic Opportunity. Loh said on a seasonally adjusted basis, the rate rose from 5.59% to 6.31%.
The other four counties in the metro area also rose, but three of them ranked among the lowest jobless rates in the state.
St. Johns County rose by 0.4 point to 4% but it had the second-lowest rate among Florida’s 67 counties behind Wakulla County’s 3.9%.
Clay and Nassau counties both rose from 3.9% to 4.3%, leaving them tied for the fourth-lowest rate.
Baker County rose by 0.7 point to 5%.
More people were working in Jacksonville in November but the unemployment rate rose because more people were looking for jobs.
The state agency’s monthly survey of households found the number of people with jobs rose by about 1,000 in the metropolitan area to 741,584. However, not everyone seeking work was able to find a job.
The labor force, consisting of people with jobs and those actively looking for work, rose by about 4,000 to 782,451.
A separate survey of nonfarm businesses in the Jacksonville area found their payrolls increased by 6,600 last month.
However, the number of jobs was down 28,400 from November 2019, a 3.8% decline.
Job losses were widespread across many industries with the biggest declines in the last 12 months in leisure and hospitality, down 9,900, or 11.4%.
Retail trade lost 9,500 jobs, or 11.2%.
The subcategory of retail food and beverage stores rose by 2,000, or 12.4%, in the past year, an indication of increased demand as more consumers eat at home in the pandemic.
Jacksonville's unemployment has fallen from the peak of 11.2% in April 2020, when businesses shut down in the early stages of the pandemic. However, the rate is well above the record low of 2.6% in December 2019.