Tampa Bay’s unemployment rate in April was its highest of all time, says study

Last April, Tampa Bay experienced a record month for job loss, according to a Tampa Bay Partnership analysis of data from The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s employment report.

According to the analysis, unemployment in Tampa Bay hit 13.34% in April, which is an all-time high. Hillsborough County had a relatively low unemployment rate, with 12.04%. But this is still significant since 12.04% accounts for more than 82,000 of the county’s residents, representing 29% of all unemployed workers in Tampa Bay, says the report. 

Citrus County has the worst unemployment rate of any Tampa Bay County at 15.76%.

In relation to other metropolitan areas in Florida, Tampa Bay’s unemployment rate falls just above South Florida, which is at 13.24% for April. Orlando’s unemployment rate is the highest at 16.21% and Jacksonville is the lowest at 11.21%

Industries were not proportionally affected by COVID-19 regulations and these are a few of the industries that suffered most: accommodation and food services; administrative, support, waste management, remediation; retail trade; healthcare and social assistance; and arts, entertainment and recreation, respectively. Reemployment assistance claims from these industries account for 71.4% of all reemployment claims in the state since March 1. 

More than 245,000 Tampa Bay residents have filed a claim for reemployment assistance, according to the analysis.

The report analysis also highlighted the historical significance of the record-setting figures released. Before the current pandemic, two periods of high unemployment rates occurred in the months following the World Trade Center attacks of Sept. 11, which peaked at 6.1% in Jan. ‘02; and the great recession which saw rates mount at 11.9%, in Jan.10.

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This article appears in May 21-27, 2020.