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Northwest Florida Employment
by Michael Scheibe, MBA

The unemployment rate for the Northwest Florida region in the second quarter of 2008 was 1.1 percent higher than it was in the second quarter of 2007. The unemployment rate identifies the percentage of people in the labor force that are seeking a job but do not have one. The labor force is the sum of those employed and unemployed, but it does not include the jobless who are not seeking employment such as full-time students and retirees.

Monthly estimates of labor force, employment, and unemployment for selected counties and cities are calculated using the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. The concepts and definitions underlying LAUS data come from the Current Population Survey (CPS); this household survey is the official measure of the labor force for the nation. The data for this article was extracted from the LAUS program on the seventh of November.

The unemployment rate in the Northwest Florida region for the second quarter of 2008 was 4.3 percent, up 1.1 percent from last year as previously mentioned. The region continued its trend of being lower than both the state’s and the nation’s rate as demonstrated in the graph comparing unemployment rates. However, the state’s unemployment rate no longer continued being lower than the nation’s unemployment rate. The state’s unemployment rate was 0.1 percent higher than the nation’s rate at 5.2 percent in May 2008; the state’s unemployment rate had been lower than the nation’s rate since 2002.

Within the region, the quarterly unemployment rates had a range of 2.1 percent. Walton County had the lowest unemployment rate at 3.2 percent, up 0.8 percent from last year. The next lowest rate was Liberty County’s 3.6 percent. Washington County had the highest unemployment rate at 5.3 percent, up 1.4 percent from last year. The second highest rate was Calhoun County at 5 percent. The median unemployment rate for the sixteen counties was 4.4 percent.

Northwest Florida filled 3,861 jobs between first quarter 2007 and first quarter 2008. Four counties in the region lost jobs over the same time period, and Bay County lost the most jobs at 914. Unfortunately, all the sixteen counties increased their unemployment rate. Every county in the region had an increase in their labor force. Walton County and Escambia County added the most jobs at 2,829 and 948, respectively.

The results of the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey suggest that nationwide hiring will decline in the third quarter of 2008. Jeffrey A. Joerres, the Chairman and CEO of Manpower Inc., stated that “while overall softness continues in the third quarter, employers are generally not reacting with large-scale payroll reductions.” Accordingly, the results of the survey indicated that 58 percent of the respondents expect no change in the rate of hiring, 26 percent plan on increases, 10 percent plan on reductions, and 6 percent are unsure. The regional results from employers in the South show a net employment outlook of 17 percent because 26 percent plan on increasing their hiring rate while 9 percent plan on decreasing their payrolls.