Jacksonville’s unemployment rate dropped sharply in December, a normal seasonal trend as some businesses add staff for the holidays.
The jobless rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties fell from 3.5% in November to 3% in December, the Florida Department of Commerce reported Jan. 24.
That was the area’s lowest jobless rate since it was also 3% in May.
The number of people in the labor force – those with jobs or actively seeking employment – was about the same as November at 842,067. However, the number of people with jobs rose by 4,360 to 816,587, so the unemployment rate fell.
The Department of Commerce does adjust local area employment data for seasonal factors in its monthly reports, but it does seasonally adjust the statewide data.
The agency said Florida’s statewide unemployment rate was unchanged from November at a seasonally adjusted 3.4%. But before the adjustment for holiday season hiring, the rate dropped by a half percentage point to 3.1%.
The Department of Commerce’s survey of nonfarm business payrolls in the Jacksonville area saw two sectors affected by holiday season hiring with big gains during December.
The retail trade sector added 1,300 jobs during the month and transportation, warehousing and utilities added 1,200.
However, for the full year, Jacksonville businesses added just 11,600 jobs, a growth rate of 1.4% from December 2023 through December 2024.
The biggest job gains came in construction, up 2,900 jobs or 5.6%, and accommodation and food services, up 2,800 or 3.6%.
That was offset by big job losses in two sectors.
Financial activities declined by 3,800 in the 12-month period, or 5%.
The broad category of administrative and support and waste management and remediation services fell by 1,900, or 3.3%.
Jacksonville’s job growth rate for the full year was slightly lower than Florida’s statewide growth rate of 1.5%.
All five counties in the metro area had large declines in the unemployment rate, with Duval County falling from 3.6% in November to 3.1% in December.
St. Johns and Nassau counties both dropped to 2.8% last month. Clay County was at 3.1% and Baker was the highest at 3.2%.