Unemployment unchanged as labor forces shrink
Unemployment along the Forgotten Coast showed little change last month.
According to preliminary data released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Gulf County’s jobless rate remained at 3.1 percent in September, while in Franklin, it dropped a tiny bit, from 3.6 to 3.5 percent.
In Gulf County, four people left the jobless rolls, lowering them to 170, while the labor force shrank by 61 workers, from 5,550 to 5,489. In Franklin, seven workers left the unemployment line, as the labor force shrank by 61 workers, from 4,936 to 4,875.
This data placed Gulf as third best in the state, behind only Monroe at 2.3 and Miami-Dade, best in the state, at 2.2 percent.
Franklin County saw its status on par with the state average, tied with Clay, Collier, Duval, Hillsborough, Palm Beach and Santa Rosa counties. The county trailed only Martin, Bay, Broward, Nassau, Orange, St. Johns, Seminole, Walton, Okaloosa, Wakulla, Gulf, Monroe and Miami-Dade counties.
One year ago, the unemployment rate in both counties was lower, 2.8 in Gulf and 3.0 in Franklin, while the labor force was larger in Gulf by 46 workers, and bigger in Franklin by just three more workers.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in October, unchanged from the September 2024 rate, and up 0.2 percentage point from a year ago. There were 369,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of nearly 11.03 million. The U.S. seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in October.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted total nonagricultural employment was 9.95 million in October 2024, a decrease of 38,000 jobs (-0.4 percent) over the month. The state gained 133,200 jobs over the year, an increase of 1.4 percent. Nationally, the number of jobs rose 1.4 percent over the year.
Eight of 10 major industries experienced positive over-the-year job growth in October.
The industries gaining jobs over the year included education and health services (+42,300 jobs, +2.8 percent); construction (+27,700 jobs, +4.4 percent); total government (+25,600 jobs, +2.3 percent); trade, transportation, and utilities (+21,500 jobs, +1.1 percent); other services (+13,800 jobs, +3.7 percent); leisure and hospitality (+5,900 jobs, +0.5 percent); professional and business services (+4,400 jobs, +0.3 percent); and information (+900 jobs, +0.6 percent).
The industries losing jobs over the year were manufacturing (-3,500 jobs, -0.8 percent) and financial activities (-5,500 jobs, -0.8 percent).
October Area Unemployment
| County | 2023 | 2024 |
| Gulf | 2.8% | 3.1% |
| Wakulla | 3.0% | 3.2% |
| Bay | 3.0% | 3.3% |
| Franklin | 3.0% | 3.5% |
| Leon | 3.5% | 3.7% |
| Liberty | 3.6% | 4.2% |
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.