Outgoing Gov. Rick Scott announced on Friday that the state unemployment rate dropped from 3.4 percent to 3.3 percent in November, the lowest rate in 12 years.
After eight years in Tallahassee, Scott is leaving to take a seat in the U.S. Senate next month that he won in November. His office showcased his record as job growth has far outpaced the additional 700,000 new jobs that Scott promised on the campaign trail when he was first elected governor in 2010.
“Every county in Florida has experienced a drop in the unemployment rate since December 2010,” the governor’s office noted. “Florida businesses have created more than 1.67 million private-sector jobs since December 2010, including 23,000 private-sector jobs in November. Over the past year, 251,200 new private-sector jobs were created in Florida. Florida’s annual job growth rate has outpaced the nation for 79 of the past 80 months. The only month that Florida did not exceed the nation was due to Hurricane Irma.”
“Being governor is the best job in the world, and I am excited about the economic success that Florida has been able to achieve over the past eight years,” Scott said on Friday. “Our unemployment rate being at 3.3 percent and nearly 1.7 million jobs being created since December 2010 has allowed so many Floridians the opportunity to live their dreams in the Sunshine State. I will never stop working on what’s important to Floridians – jobs, a great education and safe communities.”
Cissy Proctor, the executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, praised Scott’s handling of the economy and job creation.
“Florida has remained committed to job creation under Governor Scott’s leadership, providing opportunities for hardworking Floridians in all counties to find meaningful employment. Our state has built a strong diverse economy that has Florida families working, Florida communities growing and Florida businesses thriving and expanding,” Proctor said.
Florida continues to outpace the national economy. The national unemployment rate stood at 3.7 percent in November.
Monroe County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 2.4 percent followed by St. Johns County and Okaloosa County at 2.5 percent each and Orange County and Seminole County at 2.6 percent.
Hit by Hurricane Michael, the Panhandle saw higher unemployment in November. Gulf County had the highest unemployment rate at 8.4 percent in Florida followed by Bay County at 6.1 percent and Franklin County at 5.0 percent.
