The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) announced that the unemployment rate for the Jacksonville region rose slightly from 3.2 percent in December 2021 to 3.3 percent in January 2022 (seasonally adjusted) – declining to 2.9 percent in February 2022.
Of the 841,226 people counted as part of the area’s workforce in February, there were 24,370 unemployed residents – down from 27,894 unemployed residents in December.
Regional Employment Update
“February 2022 marked the first time the unemployment figure for our region had dipped below 3.2 percent, which was the unemployment rate set in February 2020 before the pandemic began,” said CareerSource Northeast Florida President Bruce Ferguson. “Also, in February we recorded a decline in unemployment across all the counties in Northeast Florida.”
According to DEO’s February report, St. Johns County continued to have the lowest unemployment rate in Northeast Florida (2.3 percent) – followed by Nassau County (2.5 percent), Clay County (2.6 percent), Baker County (2.7 percent), Duval County (3.1 percent) and Putnam County (4.4 percent).
“Looking at the year-to-year numbers in the Jacksonville metro area, the highest industry growth rates were in the professional and business services sector (up 11.2 percent), the leisure and hospitality sector (up 10.1 percent) and in the information services sector (up 9.5 percent),” Ferguson said.
Ferguson added that within the Top-10 in-demand jobs listed among employers for the last month, four occupations are part of CareerSource Northeast Florida’s targeted industries: IT (software developers/analysts), healthcare (nurses), manufacturing (maintenance and repair workers) and transportation (stockers and order fillers).
“Jobseekers who are interested in these types of careers may be eligible for stipends and other financial support to cover training costs through our Individual Training Accounts,” he said.
For more information about Individual Training Accounts eligibility, job seekers should visit https://careersourcenortheastflorida.com/training-for-job-seekers/ for more information about the program — and check out the list of jobs available today that may be eligible for training dollars.
In February, CareerSource NEFL received more than 2,800 open job positions from its partner-employers.
For those looking for a job, CareerSource NEFL can connect them with employers that are hiring now. For job seekers who want to make a transition to a new career, CareerSource NEFL offers assessments and training to help them gain the skills needed to put them on a new career track. To learn how CareerSource NEFL can help secure that next career, visit www.careersourcenefl.com or call 904-356-JOBS (5627).
Job seekers are encouraged to visit www.careersourcenefl.com, where they can schedule a virtual appointment – or schedule one at their nearest career center location. They can also schedule an appointment by phone at (904) 356-JOBS (5627).
CareerSource NEFL has scheduled its next regional virtual job fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, April 14 – allowing job seekers to connect with multiple companies and organizations to find out more about their open positions. CareerSource NEFL will continue to host in-person recruitment events for individual companies at many of our career centers during the month.
For more information about this and other job workshops and employer recruitment events that are taking place, visit the events page at https://careersourcenortheastflorida.com/events/.
CareerSource NEFL is responsible for providing a trained workforce to businesses in Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties. For more information, visit www.careersourcenefl.com.