Daytona Beach, FL - It's the kind of news which will make the chamber of commerce types happy.
Unemployment keeps going down in Volusia and Flagler, according to numbers released today (October 19th) by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
Both counties reported drops of over half-a-point compared to the month prior, with Volusia coming in at 3.1% for September versus 3.8% in August, tying it for 29th highest among all Florida counties with Washington, Palm Beach and Columbia.
In Flagler, it was 3.4% for September and 4.1% in August, tying it for 15th highest in Florida with Polk and Calhoun counties.
The latest unemployment rate looks even better compared to a year ago when it was at 4.1% in Volusia and 4.4% in Flagler.
Actual unemployment fell by 1,871 people in Volusia between September and August and by 2,506 people between September 2018 and the same month last year, per FDEO. Flagler's figures were 350 and 483, respectively.
In terms of metro area, Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach had an unemployment rate of 3.1% in September, a drop of nearly a point compared to the 3.9% posted for August. It is a full point drop when measured against September 2017's rate of 4.1%.
The metro area's actual unemployment dropped by 2,221 people between August and September and by 2,989 people between this September and the September prior.
The Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach metro area had the 11th highest unemployment rate in the state, tying it with West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach.
At the state level, Florida’s unemployment rate reached its lowest mark since February 2007, falling 0.2 percentage points in September to 3.5 percent.
The September estimate represents 358,000 Floridians considered out of work --- 17,000 fewer than in August --- from a workforce of 10.2 million.
Florida remained below the national unemployment rate, which decreased 0.2 percentage points from August to September, putting it at 3.9 percent.
Florida was one of nine states reporting a month-to-month drop, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Four states --- Colorado, Wyoming, Maine and North Dakota --- went up, while 37 states reported no change.
Florida’s monthly figures were driven by gains in fields such as healthcare and leisure and hospitality. The state recorded losses in fields such as manufacturing, wholesale trade and real estate.
Across Florida, the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin metropolitan statistical area continued to hold the lowest regional unemployment rate at 2.4 percent, down from 2.9 percent in August.
Panama City, expected to face changes after being hit by Hurricane Michael on Oct. 10, joined the Gainesville and Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford regions at 2.7 percent for September.
At the other end of the unemployment rates, the retirement community of The Villages, which is its own listed metro area, and Homosassa Springs, were each at 4.3 percent.
The statewide unemployment rate is a seasonally adjusted number, while the local numbers are not seasonally adjusted.
