According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) press release, the national unemployment rate was 3.9% in February 2024, up 0.2% from January 2024, and up 0.3% from a year ago. Total nonagricultural employment was 157,808,000 in February 2024, an increase of 108,000 jobs (0.07%) over the month and an increase of 2,748,000 jobs (1.8%) over the year.
United States and Florida February 2024 unemployment rates (seasonally adjusted).
Over-The-Year Job Growth Among 9 Out of 10 Major Industries
- Education and Health Services (+57,500 jobs, +4.0%)
- Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (+48,300 jobs, +2.5%)
- Leisure and Hospitality (+35,000 jobs, +2.7%)
- Total Government (+32,000 jobs, +2.9%)
- Construction (+21,000 jobs, +3.4%)
- Other Services (+11,200 jobs, +3.1%)
- Manufacturing (+10,500 jobs, +2.5%)
- Financial Activities (+7,100 jobs, +1.0%)
- Professional and Business Services (+4,300 jobs, 0.3%)
- The only major industry losing jobs over the year was Information (-900 jobs, -0.6 percent)
North Central Florida Area’s Employment Growth
In February 2024, the city of Gainesville, Florida, saw an increase in nonagricultural employment of 2,000 jobs (+1.3%). Among the rankings of Florida counties by unemployment rate, Alachua County ranks number 43 out of 67 at 3.3%, well below the United States unemployment rate, which is ranked 9 at 4.2%.
In February 2024, there were 345,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of 11,089,000. There are job opportunities available across the state thanks to resources like CSNCFL. We encourage Floridians searching for new job opportunities to visit our network at www.careersourcencfl.com for support. For any questions or inquiries, email [email protected].