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.
The county’s labor force again declined, losing over 400 workers and continuing a trend of the last few months. The county’s labor force has declined by 850 people since last year at this point. The labor force reflects working-age people and families in a county where a third of the population is 65 and over, and half the adult population does not work.
The number of employed people who live in Flagler County (not necessarily the number of people employed in the county) also continued to decline just as sharply, losing 428 people and falling to its lowest level in two years, at a total of 48,738. The last time it was lower was in January 2023, when it was 48,447 and rising. It peaked that year at just over 50,000, but the county hasn’t sustained that level, with steady declines since even though in 2024, Florida posted a 2 percent population increase for the year, the fastest rate in the nation (only the District of Columbia exceeded Florida’s rate.)
Of itself the decline in the labor force–which had been growing sharply since the end of Covid–does not necessarily signal a slowdown in the county’s demographics or its economy. But paired with other indicators, it might. One of those indicators is the number of closed house sales in the county in November. That number fell for the fourth consecutive month, to 157, and to its lowest level since February 2017, when 151 sales closed even though the median sale price of $369,000 is near the average for the entire year.
New pending sales are also relatively lower, though new listings are flat or slightly down. The county’s inventory of new homes has been climbing steadily since it bottomed out at too-low levels in the winter of 2022, when there were barely 200 single-family houses available. But the inventory has risen almost every month since, peaking in October at 1,304 houses, and declining only slightly to 1,291 in November. Consequently, the months’ supply of houses has also climbed to 5.5 months, to its highest level in 10 years. It was last this high in mid-2014, and was on the decline. On the brighter side, there was only one foreclosure in November, and no short sales.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.4 percent in November 2024, up 0.1 percentage point for the first time in seven months. It had been stuck at 3.3 percent since April. The state added 61,500 jobs in November. There were 376,000 officially jobless Floridians, though the actual figure is higher. The state only reports those Floridians who qualify for the 12 weeks of unemployment checks–the stingiest benefit in the nation. Once the unemployed run out, they are no longer counted. In the federal government’s alternative measure of unemployment and under-employment, the so-called U-6 rate, Florida’s rate is at 6.3 percent. The national rate is 7.4 percent.
Meanwhile consumer sentiment, or confidence, among Floridians surged in November to 81.1, its highest level in more than three years, rising 3.7 points from a revised figure of 77.4 in October, according to the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research .
“The 3.7-point increase in consumer sentiment is one of the largest in over three and a half years, specifically since March 2021,” said Hector H. Sandoval, director of the Economic Analysis Program at UF’s Bureau. “The most significant changes occurred in Floridians’ expectations regarding their personal finances over the next year, as well as expectations about the national economy over the next year and five years. Notably, outlooks on the national economy reached levels not seen since just before the pandemic in early 2020.”
It was the bureau’s first reading after the Nov. 5 election, reflecting at least a degree of partisan rather necessarily evidentiary sentiment in a state that voted for Donald Trump by a 13-percent margin.
Dennis C rathsam says
WHERES THAT GREAT ECOMOMIC COME BACK, BIDEN KEEPS BRAGGING ABOUT?
Billy says
Wait till all the foreclosures kick in! Be houses for sale all over the place!
JimboXYZ says
This wasn’t in anyone’s Vision of 2050 brochure, was it ? It’s been going on for at least a year. Biden-Harris lied about labor reports as a cover up, 818K jobs over a year that were never created, nobody ever hired for, a manufactured prosperity of Delaware Lies from the Delaware Liar. All of this happening as the Biden-Harris fiasco winds down. All of them getting pardons from the Big Guy, so that none of it is the criminal theft that it really was. Just one big Diddy Democrat party unraveling.
Joe D says
Okay, let me get this straight?
If I were to lose my job, and collect 12 weeks of unemployment( one of the lowest benefits in the country)…on week 13, after I’ve collected my maximum benefits, but I still haven’t found a job….Florida statistics just drops me from their unemployment numbers? Do they think I just DISAPPEARED!?! Wow, that’s an easy way to make your State seem to be doing MUCH BETTER than it really is at getting people back to work! Not surprised that Florida is choosing not to use the update statistical methods of counting the TRUE LEVELS of Florida unemployment!
What insanity is THAT? I remember a textbook when I was getting my Masters Degree in Nursing: “How to lie with Statistics!”
It was a text that showed how you can choose a subject group that was not RANDOMIZED (meaning the group was biased for or against an issue and not an EVEN group of subjects), and you can make the results say pretty much ANYTHING the researchers wanted.
That’s why in addition to READING the study, we as professionals had to review how the study was done. How did they pick the sample subjects, where did they conduct the study? What was the “hypothesis” (guess) about how the study was going to turn out, and then determine if the “guess” was correct (or not)… and at what level of “statistical significance” ( the certainty that the results were not by accident). That’s why as a citizen, when you see a study conducted, you are supposed to look to see if the results have been “peer reviewed” ( meaning other experts in your field looked over the study and found no evidence that the study results were inaccurate).
How can we TRULY deal with the realities of unemployment, if the statistics we are using at FLAWED from the start!?!
Pogo says
@Everything, e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g — comes back around
… if you live long enough.
As stated
https://www.google.com/search?q=President+Roosevelt’s+famous+“Forgotten+Man”+speech
Whathehck? says
Hohoho Jimbo think of the millions you will make starting January 21st. Only one month left to live in Biden’s misery.
Then the Lord Musk said to Trump, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you”. Just make sure not to leave part of it till the morning, it will breed worms and stink. Ah! back to the future.
Atwp says
The lies they tell and the lies we believe. A very sad situation.
Steve says
Biden living in your empty head rent free. How are the price of your eggs doing? . Maybe new batteries for the remote to change the channel in your brain.
D says
Yeah, but lets keep building more poorly constructed, overpriced homes.
FlaPharmTech says
I read these comments and ask “these are my neighbors!?”
Such wisdom and insight…sigh
Jay Tomm says
Politics aside….What does Flagler have that people want to move here? I just can’t understand the logic? Maybe years a go Flagler was a great small place to live & move to. Before it’s been busted out into a mini Daytona. Flagler still has some nice things but it’s not an area flush with money, tourist things & real jobs.
c says
Hey,
You gotta remember, you are living in a state that faked and suppressed true data regarding the worst medical pandemic we’ve faced in decades so it would look good while “staying free”, and then prosecuted those who tried to reveal the truth.
People can’t seem to remember anything past yesterday anymore. But, they still vote based on yesterday’s promises, not the proven truth(s) of the past.
Scottie says
More development,more traffic,more taxes.How many more mc d ,race track,wawa,restaurant workers, service workers do we need and how the heck is that salary gona pay for a mortgage. They can’t even synchronize the darn traffic lights and we think somehow someone in local government has a plan?Yea sure they do,just dosent include you the taxpayer!
Just sayin’ says
JimboXYZ, it seems you always want to blame Biden or dems or whatever is left wing to you. Ok, but maybe local government is to blame for this situation? Allowing overbuilding, and not bringing any meaningful jobs to the area. Seems to me the folks with most influence over that are in your local government. If you’re that angry over it, address them – change starts here.