Orlando has lost more than 179,000 jobs over the past year

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity announced that the Orlando area private-sector employment decreased by 179,100 jobs, a reduction of 15 percent, over the year.

“This month, Florida saw considerable changes in employment data due to COVID-19,” begins the report issued on Friday.

Predictably, the unemployment rate for the Orlando area has risen sharply to 16.2 percent in April, up 13.4 percentage points from one year ago.

The DEO also announced statewide numbers for April, showing the storm cloud of unemployment growing across the entire Sunshine State.

‘This month, Florida saw considerable changes in employment data due to COVID-19.’

Florida businesses lost 989,600 private-sector jobs over the past year. In April 2020, the number of jobs decreased by 1,035,500, down 13.2 percent from March 2020. Florida’s statewide unemployment rate increased to 12.9 percent in April 2020. Florida’s labor force was down 893,000 over the month and down 824,000 over the year.

The industry with the most jobs lost over the year was leisure and hospitality, down 113,100 positions. Construction was the only major industry that gained jobs, adding 600 since the same time in 2019.

You can view the full DEO numbers here, and find the state’s COVID-19 Resources for Florida Employers & Individuals right here and the governor’s full Guidelines for Opening Up Florida here. For a list of federal and state resources available to businesses impacted by COVID-19, visit Floridajobs.org/COVID-19.

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This article appears in May 20-26, 2020.