PANAMA CITY — Bay County’s unemployment rate continued to tick down last month, while the state of Florida observed a slight increase in unemployment between February and March.
Bay County’s unemployment rate was 5.8 percent in March, a decline from 6.4 percent in February and 7 percent in March 2013.
The Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach metro area also showed positive job growth last month, with non-agricultural jobs rising from 73,000 in February to 75,800 in March. In March 2013, Bay County had 74,600 non-agricultural jobs, 1,200 less than this year.
The biggest job gain between February and March was in the leisure and hospitality industry, which saw an 18 percent increase as Spring Break kicked off the busy season in Panama City Beach.
Kim Bodine, executive director of CareerSource Gulf Coast, said that while there have been positive indicators in some areas in the region, rural counties still have struggled to bring in new jobs.
“Franklin County has been impacted negatively by the fisheries failure, which is hard to detect with the methods used in determining the unemployment rate and is not usually reflected accurately in these numbers,” Bodine said. “Gulf County is working hard to attract more jobs, but it is a challenge. There are many signs of continued economic recovery, but we need to see wages make a stronger post-recession gain. Wage gains drive consumer spending, which helps drive hiring.”
While unemployment in Bay County fell, unemployment statewide saw a slight increase in March, from 6.2 to 6.3 percent, with the number of unemployed rising by 17,000 to 606,000.
Despite the increase, Florida still led the nation in job creation, with the addition of 22,900 jobs last month.
Chris McCarty, director of the Survey Research Center at the University of Florida, said an increased unemployment rate can sometimes be a good thing in a recovering economy.
“While we’re way past the recession, the biggest problem with Florida employment has been the decline in the labor force,” McCarty said. “This increase, along with the number of jobs, could be a sign that people are encouraged that there are more jobs and people are coming back into the force.”
Regionally, Bodine said CareerSource Gulf Coast will continue to build on its commitment to support job seekers and employers as the economy improves.
“We have a great track record of connecting employers and jobs seekers, but right now, we need more jobs in the system,” she said. “We encourage employers to contact us so we can help them find well qualified applicants.”
March 2014 Feb. 2014 March 2013
Bay………….5.8……….6.4……7.0
Calhoun…….6.2……….6.1……6.9
Franklin…….5.9……….6.1……5.9
Gulf………….6.5……….6.5……7.1
Holmes……5.6…………5.8……..6.1
Jackson……5.6………5.6………6.1
Walton……….3.8………4.2……4.7
Washington…7.5………7.6……8.4