Flagler County’s unemployment rate remained steady in April 2021 at 5.3%, according to today’s data release from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
“The employment, unemployment and labor force data all remained at similar levels compared to a month ago,” said Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber of Commerce President Greg Blosé. “This is hopefully the calm before the hiring storm here in Flagler County, as approximately 20% of all jobs in our area are hospitality-related. With summer just around the corner, businesses are working hard to ‘staff up’ before the visitors begin to arrive en masse.”
In April 2021, Flagler County employment grew from 45,173 to 45,194, an increase of just 21 jobs. Meanwhile, the labor force grew from 47,683 in March 2021 to 47,713 in April 2021, an increase of only 30 Flagler County residents looking for work.
Blosé continued, “Looking ahead, we expect to see stronger job creation numbers in our region, not only because of the increase in tourism activity, but also because of the end of the mask mandate. The unemployment numbers are a lagging indicator, which reports numbers from last month. With the mask mandate ending earlier this month, this report does not capture any economic impact from the federal, state or local government decisions to relax COVID-19 protocols.”
For more information, contact Greg Blosé, President and CEO of the Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber, at 386-846-1864 or via email at Greg@PalmCoastFlaglerRegionalChamber.com.