Counties with the highest unemployment rate in Florida
Counties with the highest unemployment rate in Florida
Unemployment rates, while significantly lower than the alarming pandemic peak of 14.7% experienced in April 2020, remain a subject of concern, notably as economic experts bandy around the idea of a potential recession by 2023. The last economic recession—the Great Recession of 2008-2010—sent rates up to 10% as of October 2009. It was not until the spring of 2019 that unemployment finally went down to the same level it sits at now.
As of October of this year, national unemployment is at 3.7%, 0.2% higher than in September. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum, ranging from just 2.0% in Minnesota, to 4.5% in Illinois and 4.7% in the District of Columbia. Further breakdown by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows yet another county-based spectrum within each state.
To that end, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rate in Florida using data from the BLS. Counties are ranked by unemployment rate in September 2022.
#50. Brevard County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 303,521 (7,622 unemployed)
#49. Hillsborough County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 814,062 (20,056 unemployed)
#48. Sarasota County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 201,098 (5,033 unemployed)
#47. Broward County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.6%
- Total labor force: 1,084,533 (27,881 unemployed)
#46. Collier County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 187,814 (4,893 unemployed)
#45. DeSoto County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 15,599 (411 unemployed)
#44. Escambia County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
- Total labor force: 153,240 (4,056 unemployed)
#43. Gilchrist County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 7,606 (201 unemployed)
#42. Lafayette County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 2,854 (74 unemployed)
#41. Lee County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 372,106 (9,645 unemployed)
#40. Leon County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 163,162 (4,197 unemployed)
#39. Manatee County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 191,773 (4,923 unemployed)
#38. Orange County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.8%
- Total labor force: 791,912 (20,844 unemployed)
#37. Palm Beach County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
- Total labor force: 773,178 (20,428 unemployed)
#36. Dixie County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 6,251 (171 unemployed)
#35. Duval County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 522,060 (13,845 unemployed)
#34. Holmes County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 7,233 (192 unemployed)
#33. Lake County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
- Total labor force: 171,309 (4,667 unemployed)
#32. Bradford County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 11,345 (317 unemployed)
#31. Columbia County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 30,035 (839 unemployed)
#30. Jackson County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
- Total labor force: 17,448 (495 unemployed)
#29. Jefferson County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 5,928 (164 unemployed)
#28. Okeechobee County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 17,746 (492 unemployed)
#27. Pasco County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 261,544 (7,218 unemployed)
#26. Union County
--- 1 month change: +0.1%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 4,831 (134 unemployed)
#25. Volusia County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 269,503 (7,509 unemployed)
#24. Washington County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 9,939 (275 unemployed)
#23. Calhoun County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 5,098 (147 unemployed)
#22. Glades County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 5,220 (150 unemployed)
#21. Levy County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 17,555 (501 unemployed)
#20. Liberty County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
- Total labor force: 2,691 (78 unemployed)
#19. Madison County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
- Total labor force: 8,158 (237 unemployed)
#18. Suwannee County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 17,832 (521 unemployed)
#17. Charlotte County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 76,737 (2,266 unemployed)
#16. Flagler County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 51,136 (1,531 unemployed)
#15. Taylor County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 8,023 (239 unemployed)
#14. Gadsden County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.8%
- Total labor force: 21,081 (660 unemployed)
#13. Indian River County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 67,919 (2,130 unemployed)
#12. St. Lucie County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 157,692 (4,836 unemployed)
#11. Hernando County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
- Total labor force: 77,793 (2,526 unemployed)
#10. Marion County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 146,223 (4,698 unemployed)
#9. Osceola County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -2.2%
- Total labor force: 197,370 (6,267 unemployed)
#8. Polk County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
- Total labor force: 342,927 (10,861 unemployed)
#7. Hardee County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 9,076 (312 unemployed)
#6. Hamilton County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.8%
- Total labor force: 4,252 (155 unemployed)
#5. Putnam County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.9%
- Total labor force: 27,982 (1,006 unemployed)
#4. Sumter County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 36,453 (1,436 unemployed)
#3. Citrus County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 47,855 (1,929 unemployed)
#2. Highlands County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
- Total labor force: 34,412 (1,420 unemployed)
#1. Hendry County
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
- Total labor force: 16,142 (772 unemployed)