Unemployment down in Franklin, steady in Gulf
Joblessness in the Forgotten Coast continued to be under control in May, as Franklin County saw a drop and Gulf stayed steady in their unemployment numbers.
According to preliminary data released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Franklin County joblessness improved by four-tenths of 1 percentage point, from 3.1 down to 2.7 percent. Gulf County unemployment was unchanged at 2.8 percent.
In Gulf, this meant two people joined the jobless rolls, boosting them to 155, while the labor force grew slightly, from 5,469 to 5,482.
In Franklin, 19 people left the unemployment line, lowering them to 132, as the labor force grew by 33 people, from 4,795 to 4,828.
One year ago, the unemployment rate was lower in both counties, 2.4 in Gulf and 2.6 in Franklin, while the labor force was about the same size in Gulf, and larger by about 60 workers in Franklin.
Franklin’s joblessness in May tied it with Collier and St. Johns as the fifth best county in the state, behind only Okaloosa and Wakulla at 2.6, Miami-Dade at 2.2, and Monroe, best in the state, at 1.9.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in May, unchanged from the April rate, and up 0.5 percentage point from a year ago. There were 361,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of 11.08 million. The U.S. seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.0 percent in May.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted total nonagricultural employment was 9.95 million in May, an increase of 6,000 jobs (+0.1 percent) over the month. The state gained 222,200 jobs over the year, an increase of 2.3 percent. Nationally, the number of jobs rose 1.8 percent over the year.
The industries gaining jobs over the year included trade, transportation, and utilities (+55,700 jobs, +2.8 percent); education and health services (+51,900 jobs, +3.5 percent); leisure and hospitality (+38,600 jobs, +3.0 percent); total government (+29,600 jobs, +2.6 percent); construction (+27,700 jobs, +4.4 percent); other services (+13,800 jobs, +3.8 percent); and manufacturing (+6,900 jobs, +1.6 percent)
The industries losing jobs over the year were financial activities (-1,700 jobs, -0.2 percent) and information (-1,000 jobs, -0.6 percent).
The professional and business services industry was unchanged in jobs over the year.
May Area Unemployment
| County | 2023 | 2024 |
| Bay | 2.5% | 2.8% |
| Franklin | 2.6% | 2.7% |
| Gulf | 2.4% | 2.8% |
| Leon | 3.0% | 3.2% |
| Liberty | 2.9% | 3.6% |
| Wakulla | 2.5% | 2.6% |
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.