Flagler County’s unemployment rate improved slightly to 5.8 percent in February, after a 6 percent showing in January. The local labor force grew by 500 workers. Local wages remain below state and national averages. Single-family home prices decreased from last year and cash buyers accounted for over 40 percent of recent home sales.
Jobs & Unemployment
Flagler County Unemployment Jumps to 6 Percent, Highest Rate in Five Years
Flagler County unemployment reached 6 percent in January, the highest rate since October 2020 as labor markets in St. Johns and Volusia counties also showed strains in January. Florida lost 20,000 jobs over the year.
Barnes & Noble Coming to Palm Coast’s Target Shopping Center
Palm Coast residents will soon see the end of a long bookstore drought as site plans submitted to the city reveal a Barnes & Noble will be part of a 50,000-square-foot expansion at the Target shopping center. The expansion includes a Five Below and a home goods store.
Flagler Commissioners Increasingly Nervous Over Long-Delayed Phoenix Crossings Affordable Housing Project
Flagler County commissioners are expressing significant concern regarding the delayed Phoenix Crossings apartment complex in Bunnell. The project aims to house young people exiting foster care and other low-income families. Repeated delays have dogged the project. Commissioners must now decide whether to restructure local grants to prevent the loss of federal and state funding.
Future Hammock Restaurant Wins Parking Reduction Despite Strong Opposition From Residents and 2 Commissioners
The Flagler County Commission approved a parking reduction for the future Modern Mexx restaurant in the Hammock despite concerns over parking congestion at other restaurants. Owners reduced the size of the seating area to mitigate concerns.
Flagler County Is 6th Fastest Growing in Florida, with 25,000 New Residents Between 2020 and 2025
Flagler County added 25,000 residents between 2020 and 2025 to reach a total of 140,360 people. The 21.7 percent increase makes it the sixth fastest growing county in Florida. Most growth stems from domestic migration. The aging demographic influences local policy decisions, healthcare infrastructure, and public school enrollment trends. Growth slowed slightly during the most recent 12-month period reported recently.
Palm Coast’s Development Derangement Syndrome
Palm Coast often luxuriates in development derangement syndrome as residents of established communities and neighborhoods move to block new housing projects. This hypocrisy ignores that existing homes also replaced native wilds. Developers are not faultless. But Florida’s property tax system forces local governments to chase growth because homestead exemptions prevent existing residents from paying their fair share. Consequently, infrastructure decays while impact fees rise to subsidize the sprawl.
Florida House Approves New Hurdles on Already Strict and Stingy Jobless Benefits
The Florida House passed a bill Tuesday adding strict eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits, including mandatory weekly employer contacts and interview attendance. While Republicans argue the measure is necessary to stop fraud, Democrats contend it penalizes valid claimants in a system that already offers some of the nation’s lowest benefits. The bill also mandates the Department of Commerce perform bi-weekly checks on claimants’ incarceration and employment status.
Historic Stall in Hiring in 2025, Jobs Report Shows
Estimates for 2025 were revised down by more than a million jobs to a level of low growth rarely seen outside of recessions. The revisions show the United States added only 181,000 jobs last year — the first year of the new Trump administration — one of the lowest increases ever outside recessions.
Florida Lawmakers Advance Measure to Circumvent Minimum Wage for ‘Trainees’
A Florida House subcommittee approved a bill allowing trainees, interns, and work-study participants to waive their rights to the state’s $15 minimum wage in favor of the lower federal floor. Republican supporters argue the current wage limits entry-level opportunities, while Democrats contend the measure exploits workers to enrich corporations. The proposal includes time limits on these lower-pay training periods.
Flagler County Unemployment Drops Slightly from 5 1/2-Year High But Labor Force Also Shrinks
Flagler County’s unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent in December, down from November’s 6.1 percent, though the labor force shrank a bit. State legislators are advancing a bill to further tighten unemployment benefit eligibility. Florida saw anemic job growth in 2025, hampered by losses in construction and manufacturing. Locally, the housing market reflects a slight cooling trend, with inventory rising and homes taking significantly longer to sell.
The New Face of Homelessness: Flagler County Shelter Sees Occupancy Double Amid Affordability Crisis
Flagler County’s cold-weather shelter, The Sheltering Tree, is experiencing a significant surge in demand as freezing temperatures arrive. Rising housing costs, increased healthcare premiums, and recent federal benefit disruptions have pushed many working-class residents into housing instability. Local officials report that occupancy has doubled, with many guests arriving directly from their jobs. Supported by local churches and county-provided transportation, the volunteer-run operation struggles to meet the growing needs of a community in crisis.
Flagler County’s Jobless Rate Spikes to 6.1 Percent, Highest Since October 2020, and Labor Force Stalls
Flagler County’s unemployment rate surged to 6.1 percent in November, marking a five-year high as the local labor force remains stagnant. While tourism revenue shows modest growth driven by luxury vacation rentals, the housing market is signaling a significant slowdown, with the time to secure a contract reaching levels not seen since the 2012 housing recovery. Despite a slight year-end uptick in consumer sentiment, overall economic confidence across Florida declined throughout 2025.
Free the Food Trucks: Palm Coast Will End Strict Regulations on Popular Roving, Popup Businesses
Palm Coast is ready to make it easier for food trucks to sell in the city–at public parks, in commercial parking lots, on private property–with basic permitting. Council members don’t yet agree on the details. But they all agree that regulations must be loosened, that food trucks be more accessible on public and private grounds, that the city control them with a much lighter hand, and that local food trucks be given preference.
Floridians Are Hurtling Towards Economic Disaster
Florida is the second most distressed state in the union in terms of its residents’ debt obligations. The state saw a 23% increase in the share of people with distressed bank accounts between 2024 and 2025, the data show. In addition, Florida holds the sixth-highest overall share of people with accounts in distress, at 7.3%. In human terms, this financial distress looks like a sharp increase in bankruptcy filings; residents with accounts in forbearance or deferred payments; America’s lowest average credit scores; and higher prices for groceries, rent, mortgages, gasoline, and health care.
Florida Could Face Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Food Stamp Costs Under Trump’s ‘Beautiful’ Bill
Currently, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits — commonly known as food stamps — distributed by the state are fully funded by the federal government. But under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” signed this summer by President Donald Trump, that could change on Oct. 1, 2027, when states could be required to contribute money based on payment error rates. The error rate isn’t based on fraud but overpayments and underpayments. Benefits are calculated based on household sizes and net monthly incomes, which can change and might not be immediately reported.
Flagler County’s Unemployment Rate Rises Again, to 5.4%, Highest Level in 4 Years; Florida’s Ticks Up to 3.8%
Flagler County’s unemployment rate rose for the third straight month and hasn’t declined since March, reaching 5.4 percent in August, the highest unemployment rate since June 2021, when it was 5.4 percent. Palm Coast’s unemployment was also 5.4 percent in August, according to figures released by the state’s Commerce Department Friday.
The Most Alarming Price Increase of All: Your Health Insurance Premiums
Since 1999, health insurance premiums for people with employer-provided coverage have more than quadrupled. According to Business Group on Health, a consortium of major employers, “actual health care costs have grown a cumulative 50% since 2017.” In a separate survey published in 2021, 87% of companies said that in the next five to 10 years, the cost of providing health insurance for their workers would become “unsustainable.”
Flagler County’s and Palm Coast’s Unemployment Rates Hit 4-Year Highs, Housing Inventory at 15-Year High
Flagler County’s unemployment rate in July rose to 5 percent, from 4.8 percent the previous month, the highest jobless rate since July 2021, when it was still trending down from the Covid pandemic slowdown. Palm Coast’s unemployment rate of 4.9 percent also matches a four-year high. The housing inventory in the county–the number of houses available for sale–hit a 15-year high, according to the latest available figures.
U.S. Job Creation Stalls to Lowest 3-Month Total Since Covid, Bankruptcies Spike 27% in Florida’s Middle District
The national economy added 73,000 jobs in July and 106,000 in the last three months combined, the poorest quarter in job creation since the massive job losses of April 2020 as Covid shut down much of the economy. The unemployment rate edged up to 4.2. It has hovered between 4 and 4.2 percent for the past 14 months. In a related trend, personal and business bankruptcy filings rose nationally 11.5 percent in the last 12 months, and 27 percent in the Middle District of Florida that includes Flagler County, from 18,471 last year to 23,442 in the last 12 months. A bankruptcy attorney says the trend is here to stay.
Analysis Warns Deportations Could Cost 6 Million Jobs, With Florida Among Four Top Losers
If successful, the administration’s goal of deporting 4 million people over four years will cost jobs held by both immigrants and U.S.-born workers, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. EPI’s analysis found California, Florida, New York and Texas will have the highest number of job losses, because of larger immigrant populations in those states.
Flagler County’s Unemployment Steady at 4.2%, Labor Force Is Flat, Florida Unemployment at 3.7%
Florida’s unemployment rate held at 3.7 percent in May, after inching up earlier in the year, while Flagler County’s unemployment remained at 4.2 percent, where it was last month. In Flagler, 2,339 residents are unemployed, almost exactly the same number as last month but about 300 more than at this time last year. The labor force was flat, adding barely two dozen people to a total of 55,625. The labor force is an indication of the number of working-age people and families moving to the county. It is almost unchanged from a year ago.
American Doctors Are Escaping to Canada. Guess Why.
The Medical Council of Canada said in an email statement that the number of American doctors creating accounts on physiciansapply.ca, which is “typically the first step” to being licensed in Canada, has increased more than 750% over the past seven months compared with the same time period last year — from 71 applicants to 615. Separately, medical licensing organizations in Canada’s most populous provinces reported a rise in Americans either applying for or receiving Canadian licenses, with at least some doctors disclosing they were moving specifically because of the new regime in the United States.
Florida House Votes to Scrap Work Limits for Older Teens But Ban STI Treatment Without Parental Consent
Although older teens could work unlimited hours, they wouldn’t be able to get treatment for sexually transmitted infections on their own under two bills the Florida House approved Friday. House lawmakers voted on party lines both to require parental consent for health care providers to treat minors with STIs and to let 16- and 17-year-olds work full-time hours during the school year without their parents’ permission.
Bill to Lower Minimum Wage in Florida Dies
Senate President Ben Albritton said a controversial bill that sought to pay some workers below the minimum wage is dead. “To tell you the truth, I think if somebody works, whether they’re being an apprentice or whatever, minimum wage is actually in the Constitution for a reason,” Albritton told reporters.
Flagler County Unemployment Dips Back to 4.1%, But Inventory of Single-Family Houses Rises to 13-Year High
Flagler County’s unemployment rate fell back to 4.1 percent, from 6.6 percent the previous month, according to figures released by the state Department of Commerce this morning. The rates are not seasonally adjusted. But the county’s housing inventory continues to rise, and is now at its highest level in 13 years, and rising.
In Rare Rebuke, Palm Coast Planning Board Denies Application for Self-Storage Business on Pine Lakes Parkway
The Palm Coast Planning Board in a 4-2 vote denied an application for an 850-unit, 100,000 square foot self-storage facility on Pine Lakes Parkway, halfway between Belle Terre and Palm Coast Parkway. The facility would have 26 outdoor recreational vehicle and boat storage spaces. The decision is not final, and may not have been reached within the legally permissible parameters of the Planning Board’s responsibilities.
Lawmakers Scheme Toward Paying Less Than Minimum Wage to Workers in ‘Job Training’
The Republican-controlled Commerce and Tourism Committee voted 5-3 along party lines to approve the measure (SB 676), which would provide an exemption to the voter-approved minimum wage when employees are involved in “a structured work-study, internship, pre-apprenticeship program, apprenticeship program or other similar work-based learning opportunity.” The proposal is aimed at helping people gain skills through entry-level work experience, even though the minimum wage is intended for entry-level workers.
Lawmakers Balk at DeSantis Ask for $350 Million to Transfer Migrants
The Republican leaders of the Legislature made some concessions to Gov. Ron DeSantis in the immigration bills announced Monday, but the governor still isn’t getting the hundreds of millions he wanted to deport immigrants with a program under his purview.
Spat with DeSantis Resolved, Legislature Begins Third Special Session on Immigration Today
Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican leaders of the Legislature announced Monday evening their agreement on the state’s immigration enforcement response under the Trump administration after a month-long public dispute.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Calls Undocumented Immigrants ‘Dirtbags’
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, was in New York City, accompanying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in arrests across the city. In a video posted to social media, Noem — clad in a vest labeled POLICE/ICE — said she was in the city “to get the dirt bags off our streets.”
Flagler Unemployment Falls Slightly to 3.8% but Labor Force Continues to Decline; Home Sales Rebound a Little
Flagler County’s unemployment rate edged back below 4 percent for the first time in six months, at 3.8 percent, as a couple hundred people gained jobs and the number of unemployed residents fell by 300. But Flagler County’s labor force again shrank, as it has most months for more than a year, to 50,849. The labor force is at its lowest level since February 2023, when it was 50,773 and rising.
Ag Commissioner Sees No Harm to Florida Farms from Migrants’ Deportations
Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson advocated for a more simplified agriculture working visa program Tuesday, but played down prospects that mass deportations under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration would harm Florida farms.
Palm Coast Council Signals Willingness to Relax Commercial Vehicle Parking in Residential Driveways
The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday signaled its willingness to reconsider the city’s ban on the overnight parking of commercial vehicles in residential driveways without the vehicles’ signage being covered. The City Council considered repealing or amending the ban on commercial vehicles twice before, in 2010 and 2021, falling short each time.
21% Surge in Immigration Drives Nation’s Population Increase, Offsetting Decline in US Birth Rate
With Texas and Florida making up nearly a third of the nation’s population increase, a recent immigration surge brought newcomers to every state this year, helping to offset a continued drop in U.S. births while contributing to a national upswing of about 3.3 million new residents, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
November House Sales in Flagler County At Lowest Level in Almost 7 Years, Job-Holder Total at 2-Year Low
Flagler County’s unemployment was 4.4 percent in November, up a decimal point from a revised 4.3 percent the previous month, a statistically insignificant change, even as the number of unemployed residents declined slightly. More alarmingly: housing sales hit a seven-year low, while the number of Flagler residents holding jobs continued to decline significantly.
As Palm Coast Recruits for a New City Manager, Two Brochures Tell a Tale of the Last 5 Years
A job posting for a new Palm Coast City Manager appeared on a dozen websites on Nov. 22, paired with a brochure that in many ways mirrors the brochure the same recruiting firm sent out when it was recruiting for a replacement for Jim Landon. The two brochure’s similarities and differences tell their own story about Palm Coast in those five years.
Aviation Company Aura Aero Selects Volusia Over Flagler County for for 500,000-Square-Foot Manufacturing Plant and 1,000 Jobs
Aura Aero Inc., the French designer and manufacturer of next-generation aircraft, has announced its intent to build a 500,000-square-foot manufacturing and assembly plant in Volusia County at the Daytona Beach International Airport. The facility will create more than 1,000 high-paying jobs in the area. Flagler County had been in contention for the facility.
Flagler County’s Inventory of Homes for Sale Reaches 13-Year High as Unemployment Remains Above 4%
After rising to a three-year high last month, Flagler County’s unemployment rate declined a statistically insignificant fraction, to 4.4 percent. In one troubling indicator: The local inventory of available housing is now at 1,225 single family homes–the highest number in 13 years. It was last at that level in may 2012, when the inventory was shrinking fast in the recovery from the housing boom.
Flagler County’s 4.6% Unemployment Is Highest in Three Years; Florida’s Rate Stays at 3.3% for 4th Month
Flagler County’s unemployment rate of 46 percent in July was the highest since August 2021, when it was 4.9 percent and rapidly falling from its Covid-era high of 11.1 percent the year before. he labor force had also been gaining steadily until last August, when it peaked at 52,293, a record. It has fallen since. In July, it was 51,739, about where it stood in January. That suggests the county’s influx of new residents, especially working-age families, has slowed.
Flagler County’s Unemployment Rate Declines to 3.6%, But Growth in Working-Age Labor Force Stalls
Flagler County’s May unemployment rate was 3.6 percent, down from 3.9 percent in April, as the rate continues to oscillate within the same narrow band it has for a year and a half. Previously steady growth in the labor force, however, has stalled. After rising earlier this year, it declined for the second month in a row, to 51,383, almost exactly where it stood a year ago. The labor force reflects working-age adults with families as opposed to children or retirees, who account for 60 percent of the county’s population.
AdventHealth Hired 10,000 Nurses Since 2020
Four years after a global pandemic rocked the health care industry and exacerbated a nationwide nursing shortage, AdventHealth celebrates a major milestone: 10,000 registered nurses hired across its Central Florida hospitals and health care locations since 2020. AdventHealth’s hospitals in Flagler, Lake and Volusia counties have successfully reduced turnover by 22 percent and travel-nurses by 39 percent.
Flagler Unemployment Holds at 4.1% as Local Home Sales Near 4-Year Low and Time to Contract Hits 8-Year High
Flagler County’s March unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent for the third straight month, remaining above 4 percent for six of the last eight months even as county residents netted 134 new jobs and the number of the unemployed remained flat. The slowing pace of new workforce residents is reflected in the slowing pace of home sales, which are near a four-year low. That is one of several local economic indicators that, should they persist, may be of concern to those in the housing industry.
The Economy Is Getting Better. Consumers Dont Feel That Way.
Americans are still worried about their financial stability even as their recession fears lessen. High prices at the grocery store and consumers’ memories of their pre-pandemic budgets may be playing a role. Here’s what financial and economic experts have to say about what this week’s economic indicators tell us about people’s perception of the economy.
Gaslighting Greed: Uber Overcharges Riders and Underpays Drivers
That higher driver pay would force big fare hikes is one of Uber and Lyft’s favorite scare tactics. As drivers across the country have protested poverty wages and organized for better pay, the rideshare giants have trotted out this line again and again. It’s false. The companies are reaping billions at drivers’ and riders’ expense, especially where no protections are in place.
Flagler County’s Unemployment Rate Holds at 4.1%, Florida’s Holds at 3.1%
In Flagler County, the unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent, same as in January, with very modest growth in the labor force and the number of people employed–just under 50,000–and no change in the number of those collecting unemployment–2,121.
Census Bureau: Flagler County’s Population Was 131,500 Last July, an Increase of 16,000 in Three Years
Flagler County is again among the faster-growing counties in the nation, but not among the fastest. The county added 16,000 residents between 2020 and 2023, a 14 percent increase beginning to resemble the population surge of the early 2000s that was halted by the housing crash. Put another way: the county has grown by a population equivalent to more than three times the size of Flagler Beach in that brief span. Just since 2010, the county has grown by 40,000 people.
Flagler County’s Unemployment, at 4.1%, Registers Second-Highest Total of Unemployed in Over 2 Years
Flagler County’s unemployment rate again crossed the 4 percent threshold, for the fourth time in six months, registering at a not-seasonally adjusted 4.1 percent in January, up from 3.7 percent in December and 3.6 percent a year ago. The more telling average of the last 12 months was 3.7 percent, compared to 3.3 percent for the previous 12 months, underscoring a small but perceptive trend upward.
Flagler County Ends Year with 3.7% Unemployment, 12th-Highest Rate in Florida
Flagler County ended 2023 with an unemployment rate of 3.7 percent and an average unemployment rate of 3.5 percent for the year, down slightly from the average of 3.6 percent in 2022. It is the 12th highest in the state. While the monthly report indicates continued healthy employment, it also hints at a couple o concerning underlying trends, with a slow-down in the growth of Flagler’s workforce and a significant jump in the number of people collecting unemployment.
Bill That Would Allow Kids 16 and 17 to Work Over 30 Hours a Week During School Year Advances
The proposal by Tampa Bay area Republican Rep. Linda Chaney (HB 49) would allow 16 and 17-year olds to work more than 30 hours a week during the school year and allow for fewer mandatory work breaks. The proposal was approved on a party-line vote in a House committee and is one committee stop away from making it to the House floor for final approval.