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Area Unemployment Rate Declines
January 22, 2017
The latest job numbers released Friday show the employment rate decline in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Escambia County’s seasonably adjusted unemployment rate fell slightly from 5.1 percent in November to 4.9 percent in December. There were 6,878 people reported unemployed during the period. One year ago, unemployment in Escambia County was 5.0 percent.
“Pensacola businesses added 3,800 jobs last year, which means thousands of families in Northwest Florida have new opportunities to get a great job. We will continue to work each day to keep Florida on track to become the most business-friendly state in the nation,” Gov. Rick Scott said.
The industry with the largest job gains in the Pensacola area over the year in December was professional and business services with 1,000 new jobs. The Pensacola area had 4,038 job openings in December, which included 1,167 openings for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations.
Santa Rosa County unemployment rate fell from 4.7 to 4.4 percent from November to December. Santa Rosa County had a total of 3,321 persons still unemployed. The year-ago unemployment rate in Santa Rosa County was 4.4 percent.
Florida ended 2016 with an unemployment rate that was unchanged in December and 0.2 percentage points lower than at the start of the year. The monthly jobless mark of 4.9 percent for December, the same as November, represented 491,000 Floridians who qualified as unemployed from a workforce of 9.95 million, the state Department of Economic Opportunity said Friday. “As we see a falling unemployment rate over the past 12 months and an increase in residents in our state and an increase in job participation, what it shows is more people are able to find jobs and find their new opportunities,” department Executive Director Cissy Proctor said. The unemployment rate at the end of 2015 was 5.1 percent, with an estimated 493,000 Floridians out of work. The labor force has grown by 223,000 people since the start of the year, with top increases in the fields of education and health services, hospitality, and professional and business services.
The jobless numbers released by the state 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
2 Responses to “Area Unemployment Rate Declines”
In reality the jobs consist of entry level retail,or service industry with 10 to 15 hours per week,no benefits,and little chance of a long term career.Let’s at least be honest on this board.The jobs “which included 1,167 openings for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations.” jobs are already sourced out or promised out to the
“elite” family members in our area.
The silence is deafening. Are all of you sitting there thinking “what jobs”? This employing only online is hurting many people. It’s a whole new employment world out there. this is a huge story, but even this comment won’t make it..