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.

Since the department revised figures upward by several thousands a few months ago, Flagler County now has a labor force of 55,579, almost unchanged from a year ago, with 53,300 holding jobs either in the county, in surrounding counties or through remote work. Some 2,275 Flagler County residents qualified for unemployment.




The unemployment figure only reflects the number of people collecting unemployment. The state offers unemployment checks of up to $275 a week for only 12 weeks. Once the 12-week period runs out, an individual may still be jobless, but is no longer counted among the unemployed. So the official figure is somewhat deceptive.

The federal government’s alternative measure of labor utilization calculates those discouraged workers, as well as those who are under-employed–those who are working part time because they could not find full-time work, or because their hours have been cut back. The alternative unemployment and underemployment rate for Florida is 6.6 percent. For the nation, it’s 7.5 percent.

Home sales in Flagler County-Palm Coast were not quite brisk in February, with just 202 single family house sales closing, for a total of 2,851 sales over the past 12 months, an average of 238 a month. The median price rose slightly to $370,000, compared to $355,000 a year ago.

The median time to sale was 115 days, a bit less than the 122 days of a year ago, according to figures released by the Flagler County Association of Realtors. In sum, the market appears steady, though pending sales (228 in February) are in the slightly lower side, and the county’s inventory of houses available continues to rise to post-bubble highs. It is now approaching 1,500, the highest level since March 2012, when it was falling rapidly in the aftermath of the housing crash. The amount equates to a six-month supply.




The state had a 3.6 percent unemployment rate in March, the same as in February. Florida had an estimated 403,000 people who qualified as out of work in March, 5,000 more than a month earlier. Meanwhile, the labor force of about 11.2 million grew by 1,000 in the same time.

The state jobless rate was 3.2 percent in March 2024. Meanwhile, the national rate last month was 4.2 percent, up from 4.1 percent in February and 3.9 percent in March 2024.

Jimmy Heckman, the Department of Commerce’s chief of workforce statistics and economic research, on Friday pointed to the availability of jobs for helping keep the state’s rate below the national mark.
“There are 506,000 job openings. That’s about 1.25 job openings per unemployed job seeker in the state,” Heckman said. “So, there’s plenty of demand for workers.”

Heckman also said there has not been a “noticeable” impact on Florida’s employment figures from the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency efforts, which have cut federal jobs and spending.

The state report lists broad categories of employment sectors and sub-categories. Employment in the broad category of leisure and hospitality dipped by 900 jobs in March, while a sub-category of accommodation and food services dropped 2,100 jobs after also shedding 5,600 positions in February, according to Department of Commerce figures.




Employment in the broad category of construction decreased by 1,400 jobs in March. Most other sectors showed upticks during the month. The broad category of education and health services increased by 5,600 jobs, including a sub-category of health care and social assistance gaining 4,800 positions. The manufacturing category increased by 1,900.

Education and health jobs paced the state from March 2024 to last month, increasing by 42,000 positions, followed by jobs in the broad category of trade, transportation and utilities, up 24,600.
Local, state and federal government jobs increased by 21,400 over the year, while construction increased by 11,400 positions.

Across Florida, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan statistical area had the lowest unemployment rate last month at 3.1 percent. The Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin region was at 3.3 percent, followed by the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford area at 3.4 percent.

The Naples-Marco Island, Panama City-Panama City Beach and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater regions were each at 3.5 percent. The Jacksonville area was at 3.6 percent. The Tallahassee, Cape-Coral-Fort Myers, Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent and North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota areas were at 3.7 percent. The Port St. Lucie area was at 3.9 percent.

The Villages and Wildwood area had the state’s highest rate at 5.8 percent, followed by the Homosassa Springs area at 5.1 percent and the Sebring area at 4.9 percent. The statewide rate is seasonally adjusted, while the metro rates are not adjusted.

–FlaglerLive and News Service of Florida