The unemployment rate in the Gainesville area for June rose seven percentage points, according to recent statistics released by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
The rate went up from 5.3 percent in May to 6 percent in June.
However, the overall unemployment rate for Florida remained at 7.1 percent, indicating the unemployment increase may be due to seasonal patterns. The data did not take these patterns into account.
Ricardo Garcia, a 22-year-old UF economics senior, said the rate most likely increased in June because there are fewer people in Gainesville during the summer.
Garcia said because Gainesville is considered a college town, many students travel home for the break, and Gainesville can be “dismal” in comparison to the spring and summer semesters.
“Growing up in Gainesville, I see year after year the difference between how the population varies between semesters,” Garcia said. “Less customers mean less revenue to local businesses, making employers hesitant to hire. I’ve experienced this myself trying to pick up summer jobs to help make ends meet.”
Dave Webster, a district manager of Kelly Services of Gainesville and Ocala, a temporary employment agency, said the business saw an increase in people walking into the office in the last month. The Gainesville community is used to summer slowing down for local businesses, he said.
Webster said many employers are currently looking to hire for seasonal work, such as staff for Gator football games. This should help decrease the unemployment rate for the months following the summer, he said.
Lindsey Shepard, a 21-year-old UF criminal justice junior, is experiencing the effects of being unemployed firsthand. She sleeps on her friend’s couch so she can afford to pay for summer classes.
“I’ve always worked and went to school simultaneously to afford tuition, but it is so difficult to find work right now,” Shepard said. “I’m living off of Vienna sausages and Kool-Aid. Unemployment doesn’t get any better than this.”
