Bay, state jobless rate holds steady

PANAMA CITY — The Bay County area added about 1,000 jobs in June as the unemployment rate held steady at 5.6 percent, according to figures released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

CareerSource Gulf Coast Executive Director Kim Bodine said the region as a whole saw strong growth in the labor force, an encouraging sign the economy is continuing to recover.

“This is an indication that some job seekers who chose to sit on the sidelines through the worst of the recession are now among those seeking employment,” Bodine said. “The confidence level seems to be slowly increasing among employers and job seekers alike. I also believe that we had an influx of high school and college graduates in June, accounting for some of that increase.”

Between May and June, Bay County’s labor force increased from 92,612 to 93,685, while employment levels rose from 87,398 to 88,410. However, the area’s number of unemployed residents also rose slightly, from 5,214 to 5,275.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), three out of 10 nonagricultural industries have gained jobs over the year. The largest gain was seen in professional and business services, followed by trade, transportation and utilities, and information.

Industries showing a loss in jobs year over year include leisure and hospitality; mining, logging and construction; financial activities; education and health services; and manufacturing. The number of government jobs remained unchanged.

However, Bodine said CareerSource Gulf Coast continues to disagree with BLS’s report that 600 jobs have been lost in the hospitality sector over the last year.

State rate

Florida’s job growth was also positive in June. The state added 37,000 jobs last month and led the nation in overall job growth, but failed to decrease the unemployment rate, which ticked up slightly from 6.2 to 6.3 percent.

In stark contrast, Florida led the nation in job losses last month.

In the last year, the state has added 237,500 jobs, an increase of about 3 percent. The BLS reports a 1.8 percent growth in jobs nationwide in the last year.

With a labor force of 9.6 million, roughly 597,000 Floridians were jobless last month, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although the number of jobless Floridians has seen a rise over the last several months, the increase also could be attributed to a rise in the number of people looking for work again as the economy improves. 

Date   Bay County employed  unemployed  unemployment rate

June 2014              88,410         5,275                 5.6

May 2014                87,398         5,214                 5.6

June 2013              87,764         6,243                 6.6  

June 2014                                May 2014                June 2013

Bay……………….5.6………………...5.6………………6.6

Calhoun…………..6.4………………...6.1………………7.2

Franklin…………..5.6.………………..5.6………………5.6

Gulf……………….6.1.………………..6.0………….......7.0

Holmes……………5.8…………….......5.4……………...6.6

Jackson…………...5.6………………...5.4………………6.4

Walton…………….3.4..……………….3.4……………....4.4

Washington……….7.4.…………….…..7.1……………...8.5