Unemployment down in both Gulf and Franklin

Joblessness in the Forgotten Coast headed in the right direction in April, as both Gulf and Franklin counties saw a drop in their unemployment numbers.

According to preliminary data released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Gulf County unemployment fell by four-tenths of 1 percentage point last month, from 3.2 to 2.8 percent. Franklin County joblessness improved by two-tenths of 1 percentage point, from 3.3 down to 3.1 percent.

In Gulf, this meant 25 people left the jobless rolls, shrinking them to 153, while the labor force dropped slightly, from 5,506 to 5,473.

In Franklin, 13 people left the unemployment line, lowering them to 151, as the labor force shrank by 123 people, from 4,920 to 4,797.

One year ago, the unemployment rate was lower in both counties, 2.1 in Gulf and 2.2 in Franklin, while the labor force was about the same size in Franklin, and smaller by about three dozen workers in Gulf.

Gulf’s joblessness in April tied it with Okaloosa and Wakulla as the third best county in the state. Franklin’s unemployment rate tied for 10th best in the state, a whisker better than the state average.

Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in April 2024, up 0.1 percentage point from the March 2024 rate, and up 0.6 percentage point from a year ago. There were 361,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of 11.09 million. The U.S. seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in April.

Florida’s seasonally adjusted total nonagricultural employment was 9,949,600 in April 2024, an increase of 45,300 jobs (+0.5 percent) over the month. The state gained 240,500 jobs over the year, an increase of 2.5 percent. Nationally, the number of jobs rose 1.8 percent over the year.

Nine of the state’s 10 major industries experienced positive over-the-year job growth in April, the only industry losing jobs was financial activities (-2,500 jobs, -0.4 percent).

The industries gaining jobs over the year included education and health services (+60,100 jobs, +4.1 percent); trade, transportation, and utilities (+57,800 jobs, +3.0 percent); leisure and hospitality (+45,600 jobs, +3.5 percent); total government (+29,600 jobs, +2.6 percent); construction (+22,100 jobs, +3.5 percent); other services (+11,500 jobs, +3.2 percent); manufacturing (+8,700 jobs, +2.1 percent); professional and business services (+5,700 jobs, +0.4 percent); and information (+1.500 jobs, +0.9 percent).