Certain areas in the U.S. have higher unemployment rates compared to others, and this rate keeps increasing and decreasing. For example, in Worcester, Massachusetts, the unemployment rate was 5.2 in May 2024, then increased to 5.7 in June and 6.0 in July. In August, the rate was 5.7. Some people remain unemployed due to religious discrimination, unpaid wages, hour violations, equal pay act violations, and many other things, and they end up hiring a Worcester employment law attorney from MAEmploymentLawyers.
While this is the case in Worchester, Massachusetts, things in Pensacola are a bit different. If you live in this city or want to move there, here is what you should know about the unemployment rate.
Keep in mind that, even though it sounds odd, checking the unemployment rate of a state you want to move in is vital to your future. It goes without saying that you should have an idea about the job market and available positions in the area too before settling there for good.
Unemployment Rate in the U.S.
In September 2024, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.4% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics launched by the U.S. Department of Labor. The rate reached the 4.8% mark. That being said, the number of unemployed people in the U.S. fell by 710,000 to 7.7 million. Compared to the rates from February-April 2024, these rates are much better and show a slow transition to a better employment situation.
However, since the pandemic is still ongoing, the rates are still above their levels from before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unemployment Rate in Florida
Back in August, Florida’s unemployment rate went to 5.0, which is a 0.1 decrease as the rate was 5.1% in July. According to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, there were 16 consecutive job growth months in Florida. There were 19,400 private-sector jobs gained by the state in a little over a month. So, since April 2024, the state managed to gain 990,400 jobs, which is great.
According to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity secretary Dane Eagle, the unemployment rate is decreasing under Governor DeSantis’s leadership. Apparently, this shows that the economy of Florida is only going up and that people in the state are now going back to work.
In just 6 months, Florida has a labor force increase of 373,000. This might be the result of the “Return to Work” initiative encouraged by the state. It might have determined more Floridians to go back to work, which is great.
What Is the Unemployment Rate in Pensacola?
Pensacola has an unemployment rate of 4.3%. This is less than the U.S. average, which is 6.0%. Meanwhile, over the last year, the job market has increased by 1.9%, and it is predicted that job growth will reach 42.0% in the future, higher than the 33.5% U.S. average.
In fact, the unemployment rate decreased in the whole of Escambia County. The rate was 5.6% in June, and it decreased to 5.1% in July.
It’s difficult to say how the unemployment rate will progress in the following months as many factors could influence it, such as the coronavirus pandemic, among other things. At the moment, the situation in Pensacola, Florida is better with the unemployment rate being below the national average and, hopefully, it will get even better over time.
Unemployment During the Pandemic
As mentioned above, it is quite difficult to say how this rate will change in the following months or even years. The increasing unemployment rate during the first year of the pandemic and the thousands of hundreds of layoffs throughout the world have made people look for different ways to support themselves.
For example, it is easily noticeable the fact that there are more small businesses and LLCs being opened these years than in the past. One could say that the people got more informed and eventually found out how easy it was to start a business.
Then, cue in the online environment, which is pretty much a goldmine when it comes to making money – one way or another -, and people may have forgotten about the possibility of having a full-time, regular, desk job.
But this is only a part of the story.
Unemployment and the Opportunities for Remote Work
Unemployment in the context of the pandemic also made employees aware of the fact that, in the great majority of the cases, their job can be easily done remotely. More than that, some also learned that their job can be done in less than 8 hours per day, thus saving them a lot of time for their family and/or chores.
This happened because, either they liked it or not, employers had to make the shift to a 100% remote schedule. While most employers did share their unhappiness in this regard, most of them reaped quite the benefits at the same time.
For example, imagine an employer having to rent an office building with a capacity of 200 people mostly for jobs that can be done remotely. When the pandemic hit, they still had to pay rent for those offices – but now, in the second year, they probably save at least a couple of employee salaries a month as they are not burdened by that particular rent.
The Bottom Line
For a couple of countries in the world and some states, the unemployment rate rose to an all-time high during the first year of the pandemic. People got fired without hesitation, while companies also had to shut down entire departments right after having been established – naturally, with little to no notice.
In short, both employment and unemployment saw dire times in these two years. Fortunately, things seem to start looking better, especially as employees are now introduced to more than enough work opportunities – both online and in safe, physical work environments.
In the end, it is clear that human nature is one of survival – after all, the economy didn’t collapse and you can still find a job, even today if you’re in need.
