Brevard County’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 8.5% in January 2013 from 8.3% in December 2012, which is significantly higher than that of the Florida statewide unemployment rate of 8%. January’s unemployment rate is 1.7 percentage points lower from a year ago.
Out of a labor force of 264,237, there were 22,429 unemployed Brevard County residents.
Leisure and hospitality accounted for the job growth in Brevard more than any other sector during the last year (+ 1,000 jobs), followed by trade, transportation, and utilities (+ 500 jobs); mining, logging, construction; and professional and business services (+ 400 jobs each); other services ; and government (+100 jobs each). Information and financial services remained unchanged.
Manufacturing (- 300 jobs) was the only industry to lose jobs in Brevard over the year.