County jobless rate third best in state
Gulf County’s unemployment rate saw an increase of one tenth of a percent from June to July, but it improved its position from fourth to third lowest in the state.
According to data released last week by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, the county’s jobless rate increased to 2.7 percent last month, with the labor force at 5,721, 163 more than at this time last year.
The jobless rolls grew to 156, which is 8 more persons than were drawing unemployment in June. One year ago, in June 2022, Gulf County had a higher jobless rate of 2.8 percent and 158 people drawing unemployment.
The unemployment rate in Gulf County was lower than that in Franklin County, which was 3.1 percent. It was also lower than the rate in Bay County, which was 2.8 percent.
The July numbers put Gulf County behind Miami-Dade at 2.2; and Monroe County, lowest in the state, at 1.9 percent.
Gulf is tied for third lowest with Okloosa and St. Johns Counties.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.7 percent in July 2023, up 0.1 percentage point from the June 2023 rate, and unchanged from a year ago. There were 295,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of 11,081,000. The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in July.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted total nonagricultural employment was 9,771,600 in July 2023, an increase of 44,500 jobs (+0.5 percent) over the month. The state gained 300,600 jobs over the year, an increase of 3.2 percent. Nationally, the number of jobs rose 2.2 percent over the year.
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.