Marion County workforce: July unemployment rate was 3.5%, down from June's 3.6%

Marion County's unadjusted unemployment rate dropped to 3.5% in July, down from 3.6% in June, according to the state's latest jobs report, which was released on Friday. The rate is 1.7 percentage points lower than July 2021.

Local workforce officials say that summer unemployment rates fluctuate year to year. The reason is that often one parent stays home during the summer to watch young children, while many young adults are working before heading back to college.

In one year, Marion's labor force grew by 1,166 and the number of people who are employed increased by 4,593. The labor force in Marion County in July was 145,032, up 663 since June. The labor force was 142,866 a year ago.

June 2022: June unemployment rate was 3.6%, up from May's 3.0%

January 2022: January unemployment rate was 4.1%, up from December's 4.0%

December 2021: Where are Marion's workers? More than half of Florida workers ages 18-64 do not have jobs

The number of people employed in July was 139,982, up 844 since June and up 4,5,93 since July 2021. The number of people unemployed was 5,050 in July, down 181 since June and down 2,427 in one year.

How did the three-county area fare?

Florida’s unadjusted July unemployment rate was 2.8%, down 0.1 percentage points since June and down 2 percentage points from July 2021.

The unemployment rate in the CareerSource Citrus Levy Marion region was 3.6% in July, down 1.8 percentage points in one year. The region's rate was 3.8% in June.

Across the three-county region, the labor force in July 2022 was 208,813, down 837 in one year. The number of the region's unemployed was 7,597. down 338 in one month, and the the number of people employed was 201,216, down 499 in one month.

The data comes from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity's monthly jobs report. The July report was released Friday, and the next report will be released on Sept. 16.

In the tri-county region, Levy County had the lowest jobless rate at 3.3% and Citrus County has the highest at 4.2%, both down by 0.2 percentage points since June.

“We have an overall growth in both labor force and employment in our area,” said Rusty Skinner, CEO of CareerSource Citrus Levy Marion. “This is a time for monthly fluctuations, but compared to one year ago, our workforce is strong.”

When is the next job fair?

CareerSource CLM is holding a job fair to match job seekers with businesses. The general job fair is slated for Sept. 22 from 3-5 p.m. at the Klein Center on the College of Central Florida campus in Ocala.

Skinner added that “for those looking for work but finding themselves in need of training, CareerSource CLM offers several online programs that allow people top access training at their convenience.”

Those include: Metrix Learning’s SkillUp, which offers both basic skills and career skills; and Valor/180 Skills, which provides training with a strong concentration on manufacturing-related skills.

“These allow those seeking employment as well as those seeking employment advancement, to schedule their learning around their work and family obligations,” Skinner said.

Information about job fairs, hiring events and other candidate and business services are available at careersourceclm.com, according to a press release.

Joe Callahan can be reached at (352) 817-1750 or at joe.callahan@starbanner.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeOcalaNews

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: July unemployment rate was 3.5% in Marion, down from June's 3.6%