TAMPA, Fla. — While Florida continues to post an unemployment rate lower than the national average, inside the numbers, the unemployment rate is rising in many major areas of the state.
Across the Tampa Bay region, unemployment rose in every county from April 2023 to April 2024. Some counties saw rates rise by as much as 1.3% in the last year.
County | April 2023 unemployment rate | April 2024 unemployment rate | YOY change in employed people | YOY change in those on unemployment |
Hillsborough | 2.4% | 3.2% | -67,251 | 6,871 |
Pinellas | 2.2% | 3.0% | 410 | 4,377 |
Pasco | 2.7% | 3.7% | 9,947 | 2,717 |
Polk | 3.0% | 3.9% | 2,095 | 3,428 |
Sarasota | 2.4% | 3.2% | 1,224 | 1,862 |
Manatee | 2.4% | 3.3% | 986 | 1,770 |
Hernando | 3.1% | 4.2% | 46 | 949 |
Citrus | 3.6% | 4.9% | -597 | 654 |
Highlands | 3.3% | 4.6% | -100 | 474 |
Statewide | 2.4% | 3.2% | 21,000 | 87,000 |
NOTE: All Numbers are Non-Seasonally Adjusted. All numbers from Floridajobs.org
Compared to the national average, Florida's 3.2% unemployment rate remained below the national rate of 3.9%. The Florida Department of Commerce said it was the 42nd straight month the state of Florida's unemployment rate had been below the national average.
Pasco County woman trying to rebuild mobile home after hurricanes
"I cried, of course, because I've worked very hard getting it nice, which has been difficult for me since I lost my husband and being alone,” Kelly Welty said.
Welty's mobile home lost its roof during Hurricane Milton. She said it was the only one in the Buena Vista community to get totaled by a tornado.
