The unemployment rate in the CareerSource Gulf Coast region (Bay, Franklin,
and Gulf counties) was 4.4 percent in April 2021. This rate is 8.9 percentage
points lower than the region's year ago rate of 13.3 percent. The region's April
unemployment rate was 0.7 percentage points lower than the state rate of 5.1 percent.
The labor force was 97,140, up 9,486 (+10.8) over the year. There were 4,277 unemployed
residents in the region.
Franklin County and Gulf County had the lowest unemployment rate (4.1
percent) in the CareerSource Gulf Coast region followed by and Bay County (4.4
percent).
Unemployment Rates (%) (not seasonally adjusted)
|
County
|
Apr-21
|
Mar-21
|
Apr-20
|
|
Bay County
|
4.4%
|
4.5%
|
13.6%
|
|
Franklin County
|
4.1%
|
4.2%
|
11.7%
|
|
Gulf County
|
4.1%
|
4.1%
|
9.7%
|
In April 2021, nonagricultural employment in the
Panama City MSA was 81,000, an increase of 10,300 jobs (+14.6 percent) over
the year.
The industries gaining in jobs over the year were:
leisure and hospitality
(+5,200 jobs); trade, transportation, and utilities (+2,200 jobs); professional
and business services (+900 jobs); mining, logging, and construction (+700
jobs); education and health services (+500 jobs); financial activities (+400
jobs); other services (+300 jobs); and manufacturing (+100 jobs). The information
and government industries were unchanged over the year.
“While the unemployment rate in our region is essentially flat compared to last month, the labor force increased by approximately 1,400 individuals which is a positive step in the right direction,” said Kim Bodine, Executive Director of CareerSource Gulf Coast. “We believe the labor force numbers will improve and the unemployment rate will decline quicker than anticipated with the impact of the Florida DEO Return to Work initiative and Governor DeSantis’s recent announcement that Florida will cease to receive Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) dollars. That said, there are a number of individual factors that will determine whether someone can or will go back to work, and when.”
Additional Notes
Florida
Unemployment Data
Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in April 2021, up 0.1 percentage point from the March 2021 rate, and down 9.2 percentage points from a year ago. There were 487,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of 10,243,000. The U.S. unemployment rate was 6.1 percent in April.
Reemployment Assistance Claims Data
|
County
|
Apr-21 (Total)
|
Apr-21
(% of Workforce)
|
Total Numbers
(Mar 7, 2020 – Apr 24, 2021)
|
% of Workforce
(Mar 7, 2020 – Apr 24, 2021)
|
Continued Claims
|
% of Workforce
|
|
Bay
County
|
321
|
0.4%
|
23,140
|
27.5%
|
4,253
|
5.0%
|
|
Franklin
County
|
15
|
0.3%
|
1,109
|
23.8%
|
235
|
5.1%
|
|
Gulf
County
|
21
|
0.4%
|
1,211
|
21.0%
|
278
|
4.8%
|
The Florida
Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) is committed to getting benefits to
eligible Floridians as quickly as possible.
To comply with federal law, weeks beginning May 10, 2020, claimants will be required to return to the CONNECT system every two weeks to request their benefits or “claim their weeks.” In so doing, claimants will confirm that they are still unemployed and acknowledge that you are able and available for work.
You must claim
your weeks in order to receive benefits. Claimants will be able to request
a benefit payment for each week available.
Governor DeSantis
has, however, directed DEO to waive the work search and work
registration requirements for claimants through May 29, 2021.
However, answers to work search questions are still required to process your
claim in the CONNECT system but will not impact benefit payments.
Florida will end its participation in the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program, the $300 per week supplemental FPUC payment, effective June 26, 2021, as part of DEO’s ‘Return to Work’ initiative.
