Governor DeSantis Announces West Palm Beach Area Private Sector Employment Up 20,800 Over the Year in January 2023

West Palm Beach, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that The West Palm Beach area’s private sector employment increased by 3.5 percent over the year in January 2023, with an increase of 20,800 jobs. The West Palm Beach area unemployment rate dropped to 2.6 percent over the year in January 2023, down 1.1 percentage points from the January 2022 rate of 3.7 percent.

The West Palm Beach are labor force increased by 1.9 percent over the year in January 2023 (+14,311).  In the West Palm Beach area, the industry gaining the most jobs over the year was leisure and hospitality, increasing by 8,600 jobs.

Florida’s unemployment rate is 2.6 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from the previous month’s revised rate of 2.7 percent and 0.8 percentage point below the national rate of 3.4 percent. Florida’s revised unemployment rate reflects that more people than initially reported are participating in the state’s workforce. Florida’s labor force grew by 259,000 (2.4 percent) from one year ago, which is more than one percentage point faster than the national rate of 1.3 percent over the same time period.

In January 2023, leisure and hospitality gained the most jobs among all major industries, adding 16,100 jobs (+1.2 percent) over the month, followed by education and health services, adding 4,900 jobs (+0.3 percent), financial activities, adding 4,900 jobs (+0.7 percent), and other services, adding 3,200 jobs (+0.9 percent). 

In addition to the January 2023 labor statistics, today’s release includes revisions to historical labor force, employment, unemployment, and unemployment rate estimates. This is the result of an annual process that occurs every year in March in each state nationwide. The revised historical economic data released today are based on additional information that was not available at the time of original publication. Florida’s annual 2021 and 2022 unemployment rate revisions, reflecting the model changes, can be found, here.

Data from the month of January continues to indicate there are many job opportunities available for Floridians throughout the state, with more than 391,000 jobs posted online. Floridians in search of work and new job opportunities are encouraged to turn to the CareerSource Florida network for help. Floridians can find guidance on how to register with Employ Florida and search listings of available local job openings. Career seekers also can improve their employability by perfecting resume writing and interviewing skills, establishing career goals, and pursuing customized career training. These services are provided at no cost to job seekers.

To view the statewide January 2023 employment data, visit
www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases. Visit Florida Insight for more information on labor market and economic data.       

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