Unemployment falls in Volusia, Flagler. But is that good or bad news?

Unemployment rates in April inched down ever closer to all-time lows in both Volusia and Flagler counties.

That's both good and bad news.

"It's great to see the unemployment rate so low, but it's making it harder for businesses to fill jobs that require certain skills," said Cyrus Callum, director of aviation and economic resources for Volusia County.

LOOKING BACK:Volusia-Flagler job seekers finding more choices amid 'Great Resignation of 2021'

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CAREER CHANGE:Volusia County economic development director leaving to take private-sector job

The latest numbers

Volusia last month saw its jobless rate dip to 2.5%, down from 2.9% both in March as well as last year April. Flagler saw unemployment fall to 2.9%, down from 3.2% in March and 3.0% a year ago.

The lowest unemployment rates on record for the two counties are 2.1% in April 2006 for Volusia and 2.6% in December 2005 for Flagler, according to historical data compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment peaked at 14% in both Volusia and Flagler, as tens of thousands of workers were laid off or furloughed.

The local economy since then has more than fully recovered, at least from a jobs standpoint, with unemployment rates now lower than before the pandemic.

The number employed in Volusia rose in April to 267,309, up 12,033 from 255,276 the same month last year. In Flagler, the ranks of employed workers grew to 50,586, up 2,290 from 48,296 a year ago.

'Indicator of a strong local economy'

"Flagler County is once again below 3% unemployment, which is an indicator of a strong local economy," said Greg Blose, CEO of the Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Flagler recently celebrated the opening of the U.S. manufacturing plant in Bunnell for Bangalore, India-based Vidya Herbs. The herbal extracts plant currently employs nine workers including Helga van Eckert, who left her job as Volusia County economic development director to become director of Florida business operations at Vidya.

The plant plans to hire at least 100 workers in Bunnell over the next three years. The average pay will be $42,000 a year.

Slowly seeing an uptick in job seekers

In Volusia, the All Aboard Storage chain is currently looking to fill six jobs, including site managers and assistant managers at its planned new self-storage centers at 4175 S. Ridgewood Ave. in Edgewater and 1763 Taylor Road in Port Orange.

The former is set to open in late July or early August. The latter, going up across from the entrance to the Crane Lakes 55-and-older community, is slated to open early next year.

"Those job openings are all because we are expanding," said Emma Clark, director of human resources and operations for Port Orange-based All Aboard Properties.

The company is also set to soon open new locations at 295 Interchange Blvd. in Ormond Beach and 250 S. Glencoe Road in New Smyrna Beach.

Clark said applications for jobs at her company fell sharply when the pandemic first hit, but are now back close to pre-COVID levels. "We're slowly getting an uptick in applicants," she said.