TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Though Florida unemployment slightly ticked up in May, the rate was far below the previous year and remained lower than the national rate, according to statistics released by the state on Friday.
Unemployment in May was 4.9%, or 0.1 percentage point above April's rate. The federal unemployment rate was 5.8%.
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The unemployment rate in the greater Jacksonville area was 4.2% in May, down 0.2% from 4.2% in Aprio and down 11% from one year ago The industries in Northeast Florida gaining the most jobs over the year include leisure and hospitality, increasing by 13,600 jobs, and trade, transportation and utilities, increasing by 11,500 jobs.
Florida’s unemployment rate in May 2020 was 14.2% -- the highest monthly rate of the year as Florida grappled with the coronavirus pandemic. It began steadily dropping as Gov. Ron DeSantis began lifting restrictions on businesses, bars and restaurants.
Last month, there were 503,000 jobless Floridians out of a workforce of 10.3 million, according to the Department of Economic Opportunity.
St. Johns County, at 3.2%, had the second-lowest rate in the state after Monroe County -- the Florida Keys.
Miami-Dade County had the highest unemployment rate at 6.7%, followed by Hamilton and Osceola counties at 6.6% each and Putnam County at 6.5%.