Gulf County’s unemployment rises slightly in May
Gulf County’s unemployment rate took a little less than a half of 1 percentage point jump in May, as 18 people were added to the jobless rolls.
According to data released three weeks ago by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, the labor force grew by 36 workers, to a total of 5,588, and the unemployment rate rose to 2.3 percent, as 126 people were without jobs.
One year ago, in May 2022, Gulf County had about the same jobless rate, at 2.2 percent.
The county’s jobless rate is tied with Okaloosa County for third best in the state, just behind Miami-Dade at 2.2, and Monroe County, best in the state, at 1.7 percent.
The unemployment rate in Gulf County last month was better than both Bay County, at 2.4 percent and Franklin County, at 2.5 percent.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.6 percent in May 2023, unchanged from the April 2023 rate, and down 0.3 percentage point from a year ago. There were 287,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of 10,998,000. The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.7 percent in May. Florida’s seasonally adjusted total nonagricultural employment was 9,726,100 in May 2023, an increase of 17,500 jobs (+0.2 percent) over the month. The state gained 346,600 jobs over the year, an increase of 3.7 percent. Nationally, the number of jobs rose 2.7 percent over the year.
The industries gaining jobs over the year included education and health services (+99,300 jobs, +7.2 percent); leisure and hospitality (+86,200 jobs, +7.0 percent); professional and business services (+48,500 jobs, +3.1 percent); trade, transportation, and utilities (+48,000 jobs, +2.5 percent); total government (+23,200 jobs, +2.1 percent); financial activities (+18,600 jobs, +2.8 percent); manufacturing (+10,400 jobs, +2.6 percent); other services (+9,500 jobs, +2.8 percent); and construction (+6,200 jobs, +1.0 percent).
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.