July 20th COVID-19 Update

Pensacola MSA Unemployment Rate Drops to 7.4% in June; Escambia County Unemployment Rate at 7.9%

More than 5,000 Pensacola area residents went back to work during the month of June, pushing the local unemployment rate down to single digits at 7.4%, according to new data released Friday.

The Pensacola metro area's unemployment rate dropped almost three percentage points from May's 10.1% rate, according to new unemployment data released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.  Read more here.

See more unemployment data including county-by-county stats here.

DeSantis Says Reopening Schools A 'Collaborative Effort'

Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters on Wednesday the Florida Department of Education should not dictate local school-district decisions, even though the department issued an emergency order that says schools must reopen in August unless health officials say otherwise.  Read more here.