PANAMA CITY — After jumping from 5.6 to 6 percent in July, Bay County’s unemployment rate continued its climb in August, rising slightly to 6.1 percent.
Bay County’s labor force and number of employed residents each declined by about 1,000 between July and August, according to figures released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO).
Kim Bodine, executive director of CareerSource Gulf Coast, said rises in unemployment are expected this time of year in a seasonal economy.
“Slight upticks at the end of summer are expected in our area,” Bodine said. “The monthly differences are generally due to seasonal changes like the slowing down of leisure and tourism.”
CareerSourceGulf Coast is the official state agency providing services to job seekers and employers in Bay, Gulf and Franklin counties. Overall, the workforce region boasted a labor force of 105,438 last month, with 6,437 unemployed residents.
“On the state and local level, we are seeing indications of ongoing economic growth in this post-recession period,” Bodine said. “The transition from the tourism season is one time of the year when residents may consistently be displaced from jobs.”
Of the three counties in the region, Franklin County was the only county to see a year-over-year rise in employment, from 5.3 percent in 2013 to 5.9 percent this year, Bodine said.
Overall, job growth in the Bay County area has remained unchanged over the year, due in part to a loss of about 500 jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry, something CareerSource Gulf Coast continues to dispute due to an increasing number of tourists visiting the area.
Bay County’s highest rate of job growth has been observed in the professional and business services industry, which gained 800 jobs over the last year.
Statewide, the unemployment rate also ticked up slightly, from 6.2 to 6.3 percent between July and August. Roughly 602,000 Floridians were jobless out of the state’s labor force of 9.61 million.
According to the DEO, Florida has added 211,200 jobs since August of last year, a 2.8 percent increase, which trumps the national job increase of 1.8 percent over the year.
By the numbers
Bay County Labor Force employment unemployment level unemployment rate
August 2014 93,676 87,978 5,698 6.1
July 2014 94,708 89,031 5,677 6.0
August 2013 93,058 87,186 5,872 6.3
August 2014 July 2014 August 2013
Bay.......................6.1.........................6.0..........................6.3
Calhoun................7.0.........................7.3..........................6.8
Franklin................5.9.........................5.9..........................5.3
Gulf......................6.6.........................6.6..........................6.9
Holmes.................6.2.........................6.5..........................6.1
Jackson.................6.1.........................6.0..........................6.1
Walton..................4.0.........................3.9..........................4.3
Washington..........7.7.........................7.8..........................8.2