Escambia, Santa Rosa Jobless Numbers Fall

March 30, 2013

The latest jobs numbers released Friday showed good news for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in Florida, while the jobless rate in Escambia County, Ala., continued to inch upwards.

Escambia County’s unemployment rate dropped half a percentage point from 7.9 percent in January to 7.5 percent in February.  There were 644 fewer people reported unemployed during the period, for a total Escambia County unemployment of 10,318 people. One year ago, unemployment in Escambia County was 8.9 percent.

Santa Rosa County unemployment decreased from 7.3 percent in January to 6.7 percent in February. Santa Rosa County had a total of 4,901  persons  reported to be still unemployed. The year-ago unemployment rate in Santa Rosa County was 8.4 percent.

In Escambia County, Alabama, unemployment increased slightly from 9.6 percent in January to 9.7 percent in Febrary. That represented 1,395  people unemployed in the county during the month. The year-ago rate was 9.2 percent.

The jobless numbers released by Florida and Alabama do not include persons that have given up on finding a job and are no longer reported as unemployed.

Florida’s unemployment rate continued to drop last month, slipping to 7.7 percent.  Gov. Rick Scott  announced Friday that just under 300,000 private sector jobs have been created in Florida since December 2010, the month before he took office.   The 7.7 percent jobless rate is the lowest since October of 2008 and is well below the 9 percent rate of a year ago.

Florida’s rate is also the same as the national 7.7 percent unemployment figure, a key psychological marker of how the state is doing. Earlier this month, state officials reported that Florida unemployment dipped in January to 7.8 percent, below last month’s national rate of 7.9 percent. The Florida figure, however, has since been adjusted upward to show that the actual rate in January was 7.9 percent, same as the nation as a whole.

Alabama’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, at 7.2 percent in February, was up from January’s rate of 6.9 percent and was equal to the year-ago rate.

Comments

4 Responses to “Escambia, Santa Rosa Jobless Numbers Fall”

  1. Hmm on March 31st, 2013 3:39 pm

    Well, despite the GOP’s delight whenever the economy gets worse, America is coming back. The stock market is breaking records & American companies are hiring again. Congratulations, President Obama. Despite all the obstruction from the Republican nay-sayers, you are pulling us back to prosperity…Well done, Sir!

  2. David Huie Green on March 31st, 2013 3:24 pm

    CONSIDERING:
    “Ya you know why it falls? try filing for unemployment!!”
    “Are people coming off the roll because their time has run out, NOT that they have found a Job?”

    Nope and nope.

    The unemployment rate is not tied to people receiving unemployment benefits. The rate is based on polls asking folks if they are working and if they would like to be working. Take the rate of unemployment based on the sample polls, apply that rate to the estimated population and get answers down to a single person.

    Actually, they’re not that accurate and that’s part of why the numbers are sometimes corrected a month later. Properly speaking they would give unemployment figures plus or minus some number but they either don’t or it doesn’t translate well into the vernacular.

    David for truth
    even in statistics

  3. Frank on March 30th, 2013 5:18 pm

    Are people coming off the roll because thier time has ran out, NOT that they have found a Job?

    Also know that the Military bases have been laying off contract help this past week. (300 @ one base) due to Suquester… Interesting to see what next week looks like…

  4. Matt on March 30th, 2013 8:22 am

    Ya you know why it falls? try fileing for unemployment!! what used to be a couple of phone calls to qualify for unemployment has turned into a internet nightmare for trying to file online. I have had a very tuff time fileing. and still have not got it right after 4 weeks of trying! Thank Scott for that

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News