Volusia County's jobless rate drops slightly in February, but still far above national average

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DAYTONA BEACH – Special event tourism might not be what it was a decade ago, but a resurgent Speed Weeks might have helped lower the local jobless rate, according to numbers released today by the Agency for Workforce Innovation.

Volusia’s unemployment rate declined to 11.5 percent in February. That’s down from 11.8 percent in January of this year and nearly a full percentage point below the 12.7 percent jobless rate in February last year.

Out of a labor force of 252,490 people, 223,479 had jobs in February, while 29,011 were looking for work.

The 11.5 percent unemployment rate in Volusia in February is the same as the statewide average unemployment rate for Florida, but higher than the national jobless rate of 8.9 percent.

Flagler County showed the highest unemployment rate in the state with 16.2 percent.