Unemployment drop may be temporary

Don't get too excited about the month-over-month drop in the unemployment rate from March to April in some areas of the Gulf Coast.

For example, the unemployment rate in Lee County fell from 13.5% in March to 12.7% in April, leading some observers to speculate that the worst of the unemployment crisis is over.

But Gary Jackson, director of the Regional Economic Research Institute at Florida Gulf Coast University, cautions not to read too much into one month's worth of data. He says unemployment will likely remain high and could even rise during the slow summer months.

There are other factors to consider, too. For example, the labor force in Lee County shrank from March to April, suggesting some people moved away and others gave up looking for a job.

As economists are fond of saying, one month doesn't make a trend.