The unemployment rate in the CareerSource Citrus Levy Marion region was 3.6% in July 2022, a slight decrease of 0.2 percentage points over the month and 1.8 percentage points lower than last year’s rate of 5.4%.
Across the three-county region, the labor force in July 2022 was 208,813, an increase of 2,255 over the year. The number of those with jobs was 201,216, an increase of 5,858 compared to the same time last year. The number of unemployed residents was 7,597, which was 3,603 fewer than in July 2021.
Rusty Skinner, CEO of CareerSource CLM, said, “We have an overall growth in both labor force and employment in our area. This is a time for monthly fluctuations, but compared to one year ago, our workforce is strong.”
According to preliminary employment data released by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Levy County continued to hold the lowest unemployment rate in the region at 3.3%, followed by Marion County (3.5%) and Citrus County (4.2%).
In July 2022, non-agricultural employment in the Ocala metropolitan statistical area, which covers all of Marion County, was 111,800, an increase of 2,400 jobs over the year for a 2.2% annual growth rate.
In the Ocala MSA, the industries gaining jobs over the year were leisure and hospitality (+900 jobs); trade, transportation, and utilities (+600 jobs); education and health services (+400 jobs); mining, logging, and construction (+300 jobs); other services (+200 jobs); and financial activities (+100 jobs).
The manufacturing industry lost 100 jobs over the year, while the following industries were unchanged in the number of jobs: government; information; and professional and business services.
In an effort to help match job seekers with businesses that have immediate hiring needs, CareerSource CLM will hold a general job fair on Thursday, September 22, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., at the College of Central Florida’s Klein Center.
Skinner added, “For those looking for work but finding themselves in need of training, CareerSource CLM offers several online programs that allow people top access training at their convenience.”
For more information about job fairs, hiring events, and other candidate and business services, please visit the CareerSource CLM website.