Governor DeSantis Announces the Jacksonville Area January 2022 Labor Force Increased by 3.7%

Jacksonville, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the Jacksonville area unemployment rate was 3.3% in January 2022, down 2.1 percentage points from the rate of 5.4% in January 2021. The Jacksonville area labor force increased by 3.7%, adding 28,587 people to the workforce.

In January 2022, the Jacksonville area added 29,900 new private sector jobs over the year, a 4.7% increase. The industries gaining the most jobs over the year were professional and business services, increasing by 10,400 jobs, and leisure and hospitality, increasing by 6,900 jobs.

In total, Florida has gained 124,700 private sector jobs since February 2020, reaching 101.6% of the pre-pandemic employment level. Florida continues to see significant increases in labor force, growing by 318,000 over the year, as Floridians remain confident in returning to the labor force. Florida’s unemployment rate has lowered to 3.5%, decreasing by 2.5 percentage points over the year.

To view the statewide January 2022 employment data, visit www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.  

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