TALLAHASSEE – Florida’s unemployment rate dipped to 2.7 percent in July, matching the extent earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic slammed into the economic system in early 2020, state officers introduced Friday.
The July rate was down from 2.8 percent in June and 4.5 percent in July 2021 and got here amid indicators that inflation has slowed.
But state economists this week additionally expressed issues a couple of looming financial “downshift.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who’s searching for re-election in November and is extensively thought-about a possible 2024 presidential candidate, issued a press release Friday that pointed to private-sector employment rising by 70,000 jobs in July.
“July’s job numbers represent one of the largest month’s job gains over the past generation, and Florida continues to outpace the nation in labor force growth,” DeSantis stated in a ready assertion.
Adrienne Johnston, the chief economist for the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, stated the state has hit or exceeded the 70,000 mark in month-to-month private-sector job progress solely seven instances since 1990.
Johnston stated the state economic system continues to profit from reopening sooner than different states after the preliminary hit of the pandemic.
“We see strong consumer demand continuing, even today,” Johnston stated in a convention name with reporters.
“As that continues to grow, we are going to see strength in our employment.”
In February 2020, simply earlier than the pandemic disrupted the economic system, Florida had a jobless rate of 2.7 percent, representing 282,000 individuals out of labor.
By May 2020, 1.4 million Floridians certified as unemployed, and the jobless rate reached 13.9 percent
In the newest report, the variety of Floridians out of labor in July stood at 283,000 from a workforce of about 10.66 million.
While Florida has rebounded, Johnston stated it has had shifts in sorts of jobs.
“While we’ve gone back to levels that are commensurate with where we were back in 2019 and 2020, early 2020, we’re seeing a little bit of a shift in which industries are growing the most,” Johnston stated.
“And most of that is in industries that tend to have higher wages. So, for example, we’re seeing strong growth in financial activities and professional and business services. You can see here that we’ve outpaced the nation in terms of manufacturing.”
Job openings in Florida, in accordance to the U.S. Department of Labor, stand at 588,000, up 12,000 from a yr in the past.
“This is less than the rate of increase in total employment, which means that the share of jobs that are vacant has now declined over the year,” Johnston stated. “This is an indication that staffing shortages may be starting to ease.”
With the nationwide unemployment rate at 3.5 percent, Florida was considered one of 14 states and the District of Columbia to publish decreases in jobless charges from June to July, in accordance to the Labor Department.
Three states noticed upticks — Indiana, Montana, and Nebraska.
Rates in the remainder of the states have been unchanged.
On Tuesday, state economists, performing because the Revenue Estimating Conference, acknowledged vital forecasting challenges as they pieced collectively new estimates of tax revenues.
Inflation has helped lead to sales-tax collections topping expectations, however the economists struggled in predicting key turning factors related to a slower economic system.
Across Florida, the very best unemployment rate in July was in rural Hendry County at 5.9 percent, adopted by Highlands County at 4.4 percent.
The lowest rate was 1.7 percent in Monroe County, which incorporates the Florida Keys. St. Johns County was subsequent lowest at 2.2 percent.
Miami-Dade and Okaloosa counties have been each at 2.3 percent.
The statewide rate is seasonally adjusted, whereas the county charges aren’t.
