Florida's Unemployment Rate Drops to 10.8 Percent in April

The jobless rate in the Sunshine State continued to fall in April, coming in at 10.8 percent, down 0.3 percent from March.

The numbers, released Friday by the Agency for Workforce Innovation, reveal Florida's lowest unemployment rate since September 2009. There are also 996,000 unemployed workers in the state, the first time that number has dipped below 1 million since October 2009.

The news is bound to please Gov. Rick Scott, who has seen the unemployment rate drop 1.1 percent since taking office in January.

Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate swelled to 9 percent in April, up 0.2 percent from the previous month.

"This is the fourth straight month of decline in Florida's unemployment rate and the lowest rate in more than a year and a half -- very encouraging for Florida's employers and job seekers. With Governor Scott's laser focus on job creation, we can expect continued improvement in Florida's business oulook and employment opportunities," said AWI director Cynthia Lorenzo.

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