Most states in the Southeast saw an improving employment picture last month, newly released data show.
Florida gained 84,500 jobs in September, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday, with the state’s unemployment rate falling under 5%.
The state also gained 73,000 private-sector jobs, the 17th month in a row of private-sector job growth. In the past 30 years, the state has seen private sector job growth of this size only four other times.
September's rise represents a 5.4% year-over-year increase, sharply higher than the national rate of 0.8%. Since April 2020, Florida has gained more than 1 million jobs.
"Concerns that the Delta wave of COVID would throw Florida's economic recovery off course appear unwarranted," Wells Fargo's economic group said in a report Friday. "The monthly gain was broad based and is the largest since June 2020. The strong statewide performance stands in stark contrast to the national employment gain, which amounted to an underwhelming 194,000 jobs during the month. With September's gains, Florida's economy has now regained 84% of the jobs lost during last year's lockdown period."
The U.S. seasonally adjusted jobless rate for September fell to 4.8% from the 5.2% in August, the Labor Department reported earlier this month.
Florida's unemployment rate fell to 4.9% in September from 5.0% in August.
“The drop in the jobless rate was for all the right reasons,” Wells Fargo wrote. “Household employment rose by 0.6%, while the labor force also expanded solidly, increasing 0.5%. Over the past year, Florida's labor force has expanded by 5.4%, while the national labor force has grown 0.8%. Florida continues to benefit from an influx of job seekers from other states, particularly young, college-educated job seekers flocking to rapidly growing areas like Tampa Bay, Miami and Jacksonville.”
Elsewhere in the Southeast, Virginia’s unemployment rate fell 0.2% to 3.8% in September, Gov. Ralph Northam said Friday.
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased 2,700 from August. The number of unemployed fell 8,606 to 159,786 while the number of employed rose 4,747 to 4,084,410.
In September, Virginia saw year-over-year job gains of 1.8%. The private sector saw a year-over-year gain of 69,300 jobs while public sector jobs increased by 3,700.
Compared to a year ago, the state’s jobless rate is down 2.8%.
In Georgia, the unemployment rate fell for the 17th straight month to 3.2% in September, an all-time low, Gov. Brian Kemp said Friday.
For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the number of those employed in the state passed the 5 million mark. The number of those unemployed stands at 161,786, the lowest level since June 2001.
Jobs increased by 1.3% and were up 4.4% on the year. Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, 86% of the jobs lost in the state have been gained back.
In West Virginia, the unemployment rate fell to a record low 3.2% in September on an unadjusted basis from 4.2% in August, Gov. Jim Justice said Wednesday. On a seasonally adjusted basis the rate fell to 4.6% last month from 4.8% in the prior month, the lowest level since August 2008. It now has fallen for 17 straight months.
The number of unemployed state residents fell 2,100 last month, while total employment grew 1,200 over the month. Overall, West Virginia’s labor force participation rate has returned to its pre-pandemic level and is returning to the upward trend which started in 2017.
In Louisiana, the September unemployment rate fell to 5.8% from 6.2% in August; in Alabama, the jobless rate remained at 3.1% last month; in Tennessee, the rate fell to 4.4% from 4.6%; in Kentucky, the rate remained unchanged at 4.3%; in North Carolina, the rate fell to 4.8% from 4.3%; in South Carolina, the rate fell to 4.1% from 4.2%; and Mississippi, the rate fell to 5.8% from 6.0%.
