Northeast Florida Monthly Employment Report May 2026

FloridaCommerce has announced that the unemployment rate for the Jacksonville region was 4.7 percent in May – down slightly from 4.9 percent in April.

Of the 872,793 people counted as the area’s labor force in May, there were 41,012 unemployed residents in the region – down from 42,355 unemployed residents the previous month.

Northeast Florida 2026 Unemployment Statistics by County

Source: FloridaCommerce (not seasonally adjusted)

                        

Regional Employment Update

In May, Nassau County had the lowest unemployment rate in the region (4.5 percent), followed by St. Johns County (4.6 percent), Clay County (4.7 percent), Duval County (4.7 percent), Baker County (4.8 percent),  and Putnam County (5.6 percent).

The industries that gained the most jobs over the year were Education and Health Services (+ 3,500 jobs); Professional and Business Services (+ 2,400 jobs); and Manufacturing (+ 400). The top-three industries losing jobs over the year were Financial Activities (- 3,600 jobs); Government (- 2,800); and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (- 1,800 jobs).

The current top-five most-advertised job occupations among all industries in the region included retail salespersons (1,334 positions), fast food and counter workers (1,086), registered nurses (970), and first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers (941), and first-line supervisors of retail salespersons (908 positions).