Florida Unemployment at 8 Percent for December

Floridas unemployment hit 8 percent to end 2012, down 0.1 of a percentage point from November and 1.9 points from a year earlier, according to the state Department of Economic Opportunity.

Florida has now recorded job gains in 14 of the last 18 months, with the top gains coming in the fields that include hospitality, transportation, private education and health care.

The mark is the lowest for the state since November 2008, when it was 7.8 percent.

The state continues to lag behind the national mark of 7.8 percent.