United States Employment Snapshot
In May, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 13, rose in 17, and remained unchanged in 21.
The highest unemployment rate was 5.3 percent in District of Columbia, and the lowest was 2 percent in North Dakota and South Dakota. Nationally, the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point to 4 percent.
In May, payroll jobs rose in 42 states and fell in 9. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.9 percent in Idaho. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.3 percent in Minnesota.
Florida Employment Snapshot
In May, Florida added 6,000 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.3 percent. In the prior month, Florida added 41,300 net payroll jobs.
Over the past 12 months, Florida added 222,200 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points from 2.8 percent.
Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 272,000 in May, or 0.2 percent. Florida is tied for 7th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.
In May, Florida’s private sector added 7,300 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it added 192,600 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, Florida added 38,200 net private payroll jobs.
In May, employment in Florida fell by 13,777, and over the past 12 months it rose by 47,048.
Florida’s labor force participation rate fell to 59.1 percent in May from 59.3 percent and ranks 43rd in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has fallen by 0.6 percentage points.
Florida Payroll Employment
Florida added 6,000 net payroll jobs, or 0.1 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during May. In the prior month, Florida added 41,300 jobs. Florida nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 10 of the past 12 months.
Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 272,000 in May, or 0.2 percent. Florida is tied for 7th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.
Florida added 7,300 private sector jobs, or 0.1 percent. on a seasonally adjusted basis during May. In the prior month, Florida added 38,200 jobs. Florida private sector payroll employment has increased in 10 of the past 12 months.
Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 229,000 jobs in May, or 0.2 percent. Florida is tied for 8th in the nation for percentage gain in private sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.
The best performing sectors on a seasonally adjusted basis during May were Construction (5,500) and Education and Health Services (2,700).
The poorest performing sectors during the month were Information (-1,400) and Professional and Business Services (-3,100).
The best performing sectors during the last 12 months were Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (55,700) and Education and Health Services (51,900).
The poorest performing sectors during the last 12 months were Information (-1,000) and Financial Activities (-1,700).
Florida Labor Force
The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16 and older who are employed or actively looking for work.
The labor force participation rate in Florida fell to 59.1 percent in May from 59.3 percent in the prior month.
Florida ranks 43rd in the nation.
The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in Florida was 59.9 percent occurring in August 2014, and the 10-year low was 53.8 percent in April 2020.
The national labor force participation rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 62.5 percent in May.