Gov. Scott Announces Jacksonville Metro Area Employment, Housing and Hiring Continue to Improve

CONTACT: GOVERNOR’S PRESS OFFICE (850) 717-9282
media@eog.myflorida.com

GOV. SCOTT ANNOUNCES JACKSONVILLE METRO AREA EMPLOYMENT, HOUSING AND HIRING CONTINUE TO IMPROVE

TALLAHASSEE— Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that in November, the Jacksonville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), consisting of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties, continued to experience declines in its unemployment rate over the year, while the metro area’s hiring and housing outlook remained bright. The November 2012 unemployment rate for the region of 7.6 percent dropped 1.9 percentage points from last November’s rate of 9.5 percent, while the drop since December 2010 is 2.7 percentage points from 10.3 percent to 7.6 percent.

Governor Scott said, “In communities all throughout Florida, families are finding new job opportunities. Since 2010, the private sector has created more than 200,000 private sector jobs, Florida’s housing market is improving – and unemployment is down. I’m committed to growing more jobs for Florida families, and while our work isn’t finished, we’ll continue working to make Florida the best place in the world to find a job and raise a family.”

Among the five counties that comprise the region, Baker County led the way in over the year declines with a decrease of 3.2 percentage points, going from 10.1 percent to 6.9 percent, while the other four counties all experienced decreases of 1.9 percentage points. Clay County’s rate went from 8.8 percent to 6.9 percent, Duval County dropped from 10.0 percent to 8.1 percent, Nassau County’s rate declined from 9.0 percent to 7.1 percent, and St. Johns County’s rate went from 8.4 percent to 6.5 percent.

Since December 2010, Baker led the metro area counties having the largest decline in the unemployment rate, going from 10.4 percent to 6.9 percent, a 3.5 percentage point drop, followed by Nassau County’s 3.4 percentage point drop from 10.5 percent to 7.1 percent, Clay County’s 3.1 percentage point drop from 10.0 percent to 6.9 percent, and St. Johns County’s 2.3 percentage point drop from 8.8 percent to 6.5 percent.

In addition to the drop in its unemployment rate, the Jacksonville MSA ranked fourth in the state for gains in total nonagricultural employment over the year with an increase of 5,400 jobs. The Jacksonville MSA added the most jobs over the year in financial activities with 2,000 jobs.

Housing starts were up in the Jacksonville MSA in October 2012 (the latest available data) both over the month (+19.2 percent) and over the year (+101.3 percent). Also, the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey for the first quarter of 2013 indicated that Jacksonville area employers expect to continue hiring.

Also in November, WorkSource along with the state’s other 23 Regional Workforce Boards reported more than 46,000 Floridians were placed in jobs. An individual who receives employment and training assistance through a One-Stop Career Center and finds a job within 180 days is deemed a placement and may be reported by a regional workforce board. Of these individuals, 14,211 previously received Reemployment Assistance. Since January, more than 383,000 Floridians were placed in jobs, with nearly 98,000 former claimants finding employment.

Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent for the month of November, the lowest since November 2008. The November 2012 rate was down 0.4 percentage point from the October rate of 8.5 percent. This was the largest drop in the rate over the month since October 1992, and was the second time it occurred this year. The November 2012 rate was 2.0 percentage points lower than the year-ago rate of 10.1 percent. Private sector job growth over the month jumped to more than 24,000. Since December 2010, the state’s unemployment rate has dropped 3.0 percentage points and 202,500 private sector jobs have been created.

To view the November 2012 monthly employment data, visit:
www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.

###

Tweet