Unemployment Rate Increasing In Local Three County Area

July 19, 2014

The latest job numbers released Friday show the unemployment level increasing in the  North Escambia area.

Escambia County’s unemployment rate inched upwards from 6.3 percent in May to 6.5  percent in June.  There were 9,109 people reported unemployed  during the period. One year ago, unemployment in Escambia County was 7.7 percent.

Santa Rosa County unemployment also increased,  from 5.4 to 5.8 percent from Ma to June. Santa Rosa County had a total of  4,337 persons still unemployed. The year-ago unemployment rate in Santa Rosa County was 7.3 percent.

In Escambia County, Alabama, unemployment increased  from 8.1 percent in May to 8.9 percent in May. That represented 1,254  people unemployed in the county during the month.

Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in June 2014, down slightly from the May 2014 rate of 6.3 percent, and down 1.2 percentage points from 7.4 percent a year ago. There were 597,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of 9,626,000. The U.S. unemployment rate was 6.1 percent in June. Prior to June, Florida’s unemployment rate had been less than or equal to the national rate for 13 consecutive months.

Alabama’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, 6.8 percent in June, was unchanged from May’s rate and was above the year-ago rate of 6.5 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.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.

Comments

3 Responses to “Unemployment Rate Increasing In Local Three County Area”

  1. David Huie Green on July 20th, 2014 10:28 pm

    Actually, a rise in jobs would not necessarily mean a dip in the unemployment rate.

    Let’s say we had ten thousand unemployed and looking for jobs.
    Assume one thousand found jobs.
    Dip in unemployment rate?
    Maybe not.
    What if two thousand high school graduates joined the work force?
    Now we have eleven thousand unemployed, therefore the number rose.

    Raw numbers don’t tell all.

  2. Brandy on July 20th, 2014 7:01 am

    Not true the only “increase” is the amount of people who don’t want to work… I work at a local car dealership and we have several entry level jobs and some skilled labor jobs available immediately. It’s easier to live off the government or call 211 to find a church to pay your bills!!!!

  3. V. Baggett on July 19th, 2014 10:08 am

    According to wusfnews, Florida is inching upward and is leading the nation in job growth, adding 37,000 just this month.

    “Florida is leading the nation in job growth, adding more than 37,000 jobs this month. The Tampa Bay area has added over 25,000 jobs in the last 12 months, third among metro areas in Florida, according to state officials..

    Credit http://www.flickr.com

    A rise in jobs means a dip in the unemployment rate, the statewide unemployment rate for 2014 is 6.2 percent, down from 7.4 percent in June 2013. Jesse Panuccio, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, says the job picture is trending upward.

    “The state is continuing a now multiyear trend of reversing the declines that we had during the recession, so you are seeing a recovering economy in Florida,” Panuccio said. “I think we continue to stack up well against the nation and the 10 largest states.”

    The national unemployment rate is currently at 6.1 percent, making this the first time in a year that the Florida rate has been higher than than the national rate. “

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News