Escambia County Unemployment Rate Slips Downward

January 26, 2020

The local unemployment rate trended slightly downward over the past month.

Governor Ron DeSantis said Pensacola area added 1,900 new private-sector jobs in the past year. The area’s unemployment rate was 2.7 percent in December, down 0.5 percentage point from one year ago and one-tenth of a point from one month ago.

The industry with the highest growth over the year in the Pensacola area was leisure and hospitality with 1,300 new jobs.

Statewide, Florida businesses created 16,300 new private-sector jobs in December 2019. Florida’s annual private-sector job growth rate of 2.5 percent continues to exceed the nation’s rate of 1.5 percent. Florida’s unemployment rate of 3.0 percent represents a drop of 0.3 percentage point over the year. This is while 220,000 people entered Florida’s labor force, a growth of 2.1 percent in the past year.

Comments

7 Responses to “Escambia County Unemployment Rate Slips Downward”

  1. Charles Fillingim on January 28th, 2020 3:52 pm

    You do whatever it takes to support yourself or your family. Be blessed that you are able to work.

  2. gODSlOVE3eVER on January 28th, 2020 2:17 pm

    @Mark

    So should the success of the business owner come at the expense of the employees? Paying insultingly low wages to workers does not forgive the success of the business owner.

    If a business owner doesn’t have the money to properly pay the employees, the owner doesn’t have the money to be in business.

  3. Cathy M on January 27th, 2020 5:50 pm

    Ask local residents what kind of living they are making. This is one of the most economically depressed areas in the nation. Just drive through Warrington and look at all of the empty, derelict buildings. But the “West side is the best side” right?

  4. Mark on January 27th, 2020 9:40 am

    @Tom, if EVERY place of employment offered a “living wage”, you would see a DRASTIC decline in privately owned businesses. Many privately owned business can barley scrape a profit paying minimum wages.

    What’s the point of someone trying to open a business anymore? I put up the money, I take all the risk, and now I have to pay someone a higher wage that prevents me from turning a profit.

    What about a kid just starting out working? Are THEY supposed to earn a living wage by delivering newspapers? Do I need to pay someone $15 an hour to cut my lawn?

    And let’s say we make this “living wage” everywhere. So someone makes $15/hour delivering newspapers or washing dishes. How does that effect those of us that have a job that required an education or certain work experience? Does everyone’s pay go up proportionally or do I make the same wage with education and experience as the person that just walked in the door and does menial labor?

    We are going to “living wage” ourselves out of jobs before long. These lower paying jobs are there for unskilled workers or those just starting out in the work market. Your education and experience is what commands a “living wage”, not just the fact you showed up for work at McDonalds.

  5. Tom on January 27th, 2020 7:12 am

    As to my earlier comment I of coarse meant (lower unemployment) not higher. I was speaking with the term of underemployment in mind.

  6. Tom on January 27th, 2020 6:59 am

    Higher unemployment does not necessarily stand to be positive news if those higher numbers come..From such things as a person having to work 2 to 3 low paying jobs to make rent, eat and pay utilities. I would rather see a worker working 1 job with a quality wage and being able to spend time with family. But alas the goals of our politicians are quantity over quality whenever they discuss jobs.. Always higher numbers is all I hear.

  7. Steve on January 26th, 2020 9:33 am

    YES and YES… With people WORKING they have more money to spend and that is always a good thing.. Idle hands are ………

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News