“ This pattern is also the result of the continued decline in total unemployment , as the labor force expands and the pool of people experiencing persistent unemployment shrinks , the voluntary transitions will naturally tend to grow as a share of employment ,” Heckman said .
The state numbers came after the national unemployment rate held at 3.6 percent in May . A looming recession remains a concern for economists , as U . S . stocks fell this week with investors weighing the potential impacts of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates to fight inflation .
Gov . Ron DeSantis has repeatedly criticized the Biden administration ’ s economic policies , pointing to high gasoline prices during several appearances this week .
“ A lot of states are even higher than what we ’ re seeing in Florida ( at the pump ),” DeSantis said Thursday in Miami . “ There ’ s been places like out in Nevada , California , they ’ ve been over five , six bucks for a while . And so , this is really , really problematic , and it has a huge impact on people ’ s ability to make ends meet . And it permeates things like what you see in the grocery store .”
Florida lost 1.28 million jobs from February 2020 to April 2020 , when businesses shuttered and cut back in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic . The report released Friday showed the state has recovered that total of jobs and surpassed it by 223,600 .
The report also showed that as of May , the leisure and hospitality industry had gained 127,700 jobs over the past year . The industry took the biggest hit from the pandemic and remains short of its pre-pandemic level , Heckman said .
Professional and business services added 431,700 positions year-over-year , while jobs in finance grew by 34,800 .
The state also continues to see increases in jobs in manufacturing , construction and education and health services .
The lowest unemployment rate last month was in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin metropolitan statistical area at 2.0 percent , followed by the Naples- Immokalee-Marco Island and Panama City areas , which were both at 2.1 percent .
Among large metro areas , the Jacksonville region was at 2.3 percent , the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach region was at 2.4 percent , and the Orlando-Kissimmee- Sanford region was at 2.7 percent .
The Sebring area had the highest rate at 3.6 percent , followed by Homosassa Springs at 3.5 percent and The Villages at 3.4 percent .
The statewide unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted , while the regional rates are not adjusted .
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