Jacksonville’s unemployment rate was unchanged in February, with most industries in Northeast Florida reporting modest growth in jobs.
The jobless rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties was 3.8% last month, the same as January, the Florida Department of Commerce reported March 28.
The only change among the five counties was in Baker County, which edged up by 0.1 percentage point to 3.9% in February.
Duval and Clay counties were unchanged at 3.8% and Nassau and St. Johns counties remained at 3.7%.
Nonagricultural business in the Jacksonville area added 11,500 jobs from February 2024 though February 2025, a 1.4% growth rate.
Most industries recorded a net gain in jobs but a major exception was the financial activities sector, which lost 3,400 jobs in the 12-month period, a 4.5% decline.
The only other private sector decreases came in administrative and support and waste management and remediation services which fell by 600, or 1.1%, and telecommunications, which fell by 100, or 4.8%.
The biggest gains came in private education and health services, which added 5,000 jobs in the past year, a 3.8% gain.
The construction industry was also strong, adding 2,400 jobs, or 4.7%.
Cost-cutting efforts by the federal government were not having a big effect in Northeast Florida, with the sector losing 100 jobs from January to February. In the 12 months through February, federal government jobs rose by 500, or 2.5%.
Jacksonville’s job growth was close to Florida’s statewide growth rate of 1.3% in the 12-month period.
Florida’s unemployment rate edged up by 0.1 point to a seasonally adjusted 3.6% in February.
The Department of Commerce does not adjust local area employment data for seasonal factors in its monthly report.