Sarasota-Manatee unemployment dips under 3%

Unemployment in Sarasota-Manatee fell below 3% in February for the first time since 2019, as the number of people actively seeking work decreased slightly compared to the month before.

The combined unemployment rate for Sarasota and Manatee counties was 2.8% in February, 1.8 percentage points lower than February 2021, and a slight dip from January's rate of 3.1%. The last time the unemployment rate dipped below 3% was when it hit 2.9% in April 2019.

The labor force, which includes the number of people actively seeking work, grew by 22,764 people between February 2021 and last month, but compared to January, it shrunk by about 400 people, for a total labor force of 389,769, according to data provided by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

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All of the 1,282,500 jobs Florida lost between February and April of 2020 have since been recovered, according to a press release from the state.

“If you go back and look at previous recessions, it was generally a longer-term recovery,” Adrienne Johnston, chief economist at the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, said. “So, to have come back in just two years from such a significant job loss means we were at a very significant rate of job gains.”

After the pandemic hit, Sarasota-Manatee's unemployment rate peaked at 14.5% in April 2020, Sarasota-Manatee's unemployment rate reached 14.5%, with 50,121 unemployed residents in the region.

Now, instead of mass layoffs induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, employers are dealing with the opposite problem - more available jobs than people who are willing or able to work. Worker burnout in industries like health care, teaching and hospitality have added to these challenges, economists have said.

Sarasota-Manatee had 10,765 unemployed residents in the region last month, according to state data.

Employment in February reached 335,700 in Sarasota-Manatee, an increase of 24,500 jobs over the year. Industries with the largest gains were professional and business services (5,500 jobs), leisure and hospitality (5,300 jobs), trade, transportation and utilities (3,800 jobs), education and health services (3,800 jobs), retail trade (2,700 jobs), government (2,600 jobs) and manufacturing (1,500 jobs).

Locally, the professional and business services, government and education and health services industries grew faster than they did anywhere else in the entire state.

Florida's unemployment rate, which is seasonally adjusted, was 3.3% in February. The national unemployment rate was 3.8%.

Material from the News Service of Florida was used in this report.

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota-Manatee unemployment falls below 3% for first time since 2019