Unemployment rises in Manatee, Sarasota; still lower than state in June

Unemployment in Manatee and Sarasota counties increased to 4.5 percent in June, while state unemployment remained steady at 4.7 percent, according to numbers released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

Manatee County’s unemployment increased from 3.9 percent in May, but it’s still an improvement from last June, when unemployment was 5 percent. Sarasota County inched up from 4.1 percent in May, but is also down from 5 percent in June 2015.

CareerSource Suncoast Business and Economic Development Director Anthony Gagliano says total customer traffic remains strong at offices in Bradenton, Sarasota and Venice.

“We had 5,005 come through the door in June, slightly down from May,” Gagliano said. “We were at Bealls (on Thursday) and saw 112 people.”

Gagliano said June’s traffic was down more than 500 compared to 2015. That aligns with the lower unemployment numbers year over year.

County numbers are not seasonally adjusted, while state numbers are, which helps explain why Manatee and Sarasota counties show an increase in unemployment while the state remains at 4.7 percent.

State job growth is 3 percent over last year, well ahead of national numbers of 1.7 percent, according to the FDEO. Florida’s growth has exceeded the nation’s since 2012, and this is the 71st consecutive month of positive job growth.

“I am proud to announce that Florida businesses have created more than 102,000 new jobs in the first half of 2016,” Gov. Rick Scott said Friday at Port Tampa Bay. “Since 2010, more than 1,127,000 Floridians have found new opportunities to get a job and provide for their families. We will continue to work each day to cut taxes, encourage business growth, and make important investments in economic strongholds like our port system so Florida can become a global leader for job creation.”

In the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metro area, professional and business services jobs showed the most growth month-to-month with an increase of about 1,600. The areas with the biggest decrease were service providers at a loss of 3,500, and government jobs with a decrease of 3,100.

This story was originally published July 22, 2016 at 1:07 PM with the headline "Unemployment rises in Manatee, Sarasota; still lower than state in June."