Unemployment ticks upwards in Franklin, Gulf
While continuing to post jobless numbers that place it among the best in the state, unemployment along the Forgotten Coast rose slightly last month.
According to preliminary data released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Gulf County unemployment rose by just one-tenth of 1 percentage point to 2.9 percent, as seven people joined the jobless rolls, boosting them to 162, while the labor force expanded from 5,488 to 5,509.
This tick upwards still kept Gulf at third best in the state, behind only Miami-Dade at 2.7, and Monroe, best in the state, at 2.1.
Franklin County saw a more significant rise in its jobless rate, as unemployment rose by half of 1 percentage point, from 2.7 to 3.2 percent, and 25 people joined the unemployment line, boosting it to 157. The county’s labor force grew by 70 people, from 4,828 to 4,898.
One year ago, the unemployment rate in both counties was 2.7 percent, , 2.4 in Gulf and 2.6 in Franklin, while the labor force was larger in Gulf by 85 workers, and bigger in Franklin by 15 more workers.
Franklin’s joblessness in June put it as the eighth best county in the state, tied with Pinellas and St. Johns, and slightly higher than Okaloosa and Wakulla.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in June 2024, unchanged from the May rate, and up 0.5 percentage point from a year ago. There were 361,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of 11.07 million. The U.S. seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in June.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted total nonagricultural employment was 9.9 million in June, an increase of 9,900 jobs (+0.1 percent) over the month. The state gained 196,900 jobs over the year, an increase of 2.0 percent. Nationally, the number of jobs rose 1.7 percent over the year.
Nine of 10 major industries experienced positive over-the-year job growth in June, the only exception information (-2,200 jobs, -1.4 percent).
The industries gaining jobs over the year included trade, transportation, and utilities (+52,400 jobs, +2.7 percent); education and health services (+48,100 jobs, +3.3 percent); construction (+29,900 jobs, +4.8 percent); total government (+24,200 jobs, +2.1 percent); leisure and hospitality (+16,700 jobs, +1.3 percent); other services (+14,800 jobs, +4.0 percent); professional and business services (+6,400 jobs, +0.4 percent); manufacturing (+5,100 jobs, +1.2 percent); and financial activities (+1,200 jobs, +0.2 percent).
June Area Unemployment
| County | 2023 | 2024 |
| Gulf | 2.7% | 2.9% |
| Wakulla | 3.0% | 3.1% |
| Franklin | 2.7% | 3.2% |
| Bay | 2.8% | 3.3% |
| Leon | 3.4% | 3.9% |
| Liberty | 3.5% | 4.3% |
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.