The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) has announced that the unemployment rate for the Jacksonville region declined from 2.9 percent in February 2022 to 2.5 percent in March.
Of the 846,542 people counted as part of the area’s workforce in March, there were 21,206 unemployed residents – down from 24,370 unemployed residents in February.
“The numbers continued to be positive for our region in March, which marked the second consecutive month the unemployment figure was lower than the rates we saw before the pandemic began,” said CareerSource Northeast Florida President Bruce Ferguson. “Also, for a second consecutive month, unemployment dropped in all counties in the region compared to the previous month.”
According to DEO’s March report, St. Johns County continued to have the lowest unemployment rate in Northeast Florida (2.0 percent) – followed by Nassau County (2.2 percent), Clay County (2.3 percent), Baker County (2.4 percent), Duval County (2.7 percent) and Putnam County (3.8 percent).
“The numbers show that our region’s labor force was up 36,148 (4.5 percent) compared to March of last year,” Ferguson said. “Northeast Florida continues to record the highest industry growth rates year-to-date in the professional and business services sector (up 15,800 jobs/14.1 percent) and in the areas of mining, logging and construction (up 4,300 jobs/9.0 percent) compared to all other metro areas in the state.”
In March, CareerSource NEFL received more than 3,000 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 is scheduling its next regional virtual job fair for some time in May – allowing job seekers to connect with multiple companies and organizations to find out more about their open positions. 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 will continue to host in-person recruitment events for individual companies at many of our career centers during the month.
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.