Unemployment rate rises to 2.7% in October for Florida

TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s unemployment rate rose in October after deadly Hurricane Ian swept through Southwest Florida, while the labor force continues to grow, according to numbers released Friday.

The state Department of Economic Opportunity said the unemployment rate was 2.7% in October, up from a historic low of 2.5% in September.

The rate in the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area was 2.8%. Statewide, the leisure and hospitality sector, which measures jobs in the tourism industry, grew by 14,100 jobs from September to October. Over the past year, that sector has added 96,200 jobs.

The report estimated that 285,000 Floridians qualified as unemployed in October, an increase of 19,000 from September. The civilian labor force was at 10.75 million.

Florida was one of 24 states where unemployment rates increased, with Pennsylvania the only state posting a decrease between September and October, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

With wages up and consumer spending on goods and services slightly over expectations, the U.S. added 261,000 jobs in October, with the national unemployment rate at 3.7%.

Jimmy Heckman, chief of workforce statistics and economic research at the Department of Economic Opportunity, said Ian might have accounted for part of the rate increase but said the jobs numbers in hard-hit areas of Southwest Florida are “rela

tively small compared to the entire state.”

“Florida has really, really strong labor force growth that has been very consistent since the beginning of 2021, really,” Heckman told reporters in a conference call Friday.

The Sept. 28 hurricane made landfall in Lee and Charlotte counties before moving across the state. Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota and Collier counties posted increases in unemployment claims, with Lee County’s jobless rate rising from 2.6% in September to 3.9% in October.

Charlotte County went from 3% in September to 4% in October.

The governor’s office pointed to the private sector adding 35,000 jobs from September to October, the 30th consecutive month Florida has posted increases in jobs created.

“Florida’s economic resiliency is unmatched in the country,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a prepared statement. “No other state could withstand the direct impact of a Category 4 hurricane and continue to grow jobs in the same month.”