State unemployment figures announced

For October 2009, Liberty County once again has the states lowest unemployment rate of 5.4 percent, with Flagler County having the highest unemployment rate of 16.1 percent.  Liberty County was followed by Monroe County at 7.0 percent, Leon and Alachua County at 7.1 percent and Jackson County with an unemployment rate of 7.2 percent.

The counties that make up the Chipola Regional Workforce Region, showed only a tenth of one percent increase in unemployment for the month of October.  According to the Agency for Workforce Innovation, Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October 2009 is 11.2 percent.  This represents 1,027,000 jobless out of a workforce of 9,175,000. 

The unemployment rate is nearly unchanged from the revised rate of 11.1 percent, but is up 4.3 percentage points from October 2008 rate.  The state unemployment rate is 1.0 percentage point higher that the national unemployment rate of 10.2 percent.  October’s rate was the highest since June 1975 when it was also 11.2 percent.  Based on the Florida Economic Estimating Conference held November 3, 2009, Florida’s job market is expected to remain in a downturn during 2009 and to start improving in the second quarter of 2010.

October 2009                September 2009            October 2008

Calhoun                           8.5                                8.4                                5.2

Holmes                            7.5                                7.3                                5.2

Jackson                           7.2                                7.2                                5.4

Liberty                             5.4                                5.3                                4.6

Washington                      9.8                                9.6                                6.6