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Local Numbers Improve, Florida Unemployment Biggest Drop In 20 Years
April 21, 2012
The latest job numbers released Friday showed good news in the three-county North Escambia area — as Florida’s unemployment rate made its biggest monthly decline in nearly two decades as the state’s jobless rate fell to 9 percent in March.
Escambia County’s unemployment dropped from 9.1 percent in February to 8.2 percent in March. There were 1,051 fewer reported unemployed during the period, for a total Escambia County unemployment of 11,251 people. One year ago, unemployment in Escambia County was 10.4 percent.
Santa Rosa County unemployment slipped from 8.6 percent in February to 8.4 percent in March. Santa Rosa County had a total of 6,073 persons still unemployed. The year-ago unemployment rate in Santa Rosa County was 8.8 percent.
In Escambia County, Alabama, unemployment dropped from 9.4 percent in February to 8.4 percent in March. That represented 1,234 people unemployed in the county during the month.
Florida’s 9 percent unemployment rate was 0.4 percentage points lower than February and 1.7 points lower than the 10.7 percent recorded in March 2012. It was the largest monthly drop since October 1992.
Alabama’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 7.3 percent in March, was down from February’s rate of 7.5 percent and was below the year-ago rate of 9.3 percent.
Comments
13 Responses to “Local Numbers Improve, Florida Unemployment Biggest Drop In 20 Years”
REGARDING:
“Explain to me why, if the economy is improving, there are so many people on food stamps and in the food pantries?”
Only because you asked.
The reason is that 9 percent is still a bigger number than zero.
David explaining simple math
Explain to me why, if the economy is improving, there are so many people on food stamps and in the food pantries? Sorry, I am not buying into the propaganda!
biggest drop, not lowest number
how do you get “Florida unemployment lowest in 20 years”out of that info? It dropped some from last month but its still at 9%..
REGARDING:
“That’s because the unemployed who have exhausted all their benefits are not being counted any more. Also, what does “seasonally adjusted” mean as it relates to unemployment figures? I thought they were measuring hard data.”
Unemployment is not figured from unemployment benefits, but from a monthly survey of about 60,000 households across the USA.
As to seasonal adjustment, from http://www.bls.gov/cps/seasfaq.htm
“What is seasonal adjustment?
“Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique that attempts to measure and remove the influences of predictable seasonal patterns to reveal how employment and unemployment change from month to month.
“Over the course of a year, the size of the labor force, the levels of employment and unemployment, and other measures of labor market activity undergo fluctuations due to seasonal events including changes in weather, harvests, major holidays, and school schedules. Because these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year, their influence on statistical trends can be eliminated by seasonally adjusting the statistics from month to month. These seasonal adjustments make it easier to observe the cyclical, underlying trend, and other nonseasonal movements in the series.
“As a general rule, the monthly employment and unemployment numbers reported in the news are seasonally adjusted data. Seasonally adjusted data are useful when comparing several months of data. Annual average estimates are calculated from the not seasonally adjusted data series.”
David for truth
Statistically speaking
Depends on how you read this story. Headline says lowest unemployment in 20 yrs, story says biggest monthly drop in 2 decades(20yrs)????????????
reply to mc
“I’m retired, but I’d bet my next pension check, I could find a decent job in under a week”
It depends. Are you a highly skilled engineer?Yeah some of those haven’t been outsourced yet.
If you are nursing a govt pension , go and try the real world (not a govt job)and then report back.
To say you “could” do something is a laugh.
I could run the 100 meter dash in 10 seconds (but I don’t/wont).
Likely you believe all that recovery cr*p you watch on FOX, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC,
it all a bunch of half truth happy talk.
All for someones political gain..These numbers are phony. Also add the ones who are in some type of school or college…thats why they push it. You no longer count on the unemployment list.
Think about it people…it was just the 2nd or 3rd highest its ever been.
I’m retired, but I’d bet my next pension check, I could find a decent job in under a week.
Thank you President Obama…
What good news! Lowest unemployment in 20 years. Yet, many will say President Obama has failed to improve people’s economic prospects. Hummm.
“Florida Unemployment Lowest In 20 Years”
Thanks for the laugh.
The real unemployment rate is around 20%.See shadowstats.
Half the construction workers I know are sitting on their hands.
Look at all the empty businesses and for rent signs.
Food stamp usage at ALL TIME HIGHS.
on and on.
That’s because the unemployed who have exhausted all their benefits are not being counted any more. Also, what does “seasonally adjusted” mean as it relates to unemployment figures? I thought they were measuring hard data.