Florida's Unemployment Rate Ticks Up to 10.7 Percent

After five straight months of declining unemployment, Florida's job growth appears to have stagnated, if not reversed.

The Agency for Workforce Innovation reports today that the July unemployment rate for the state is 10.7 percent, a 0.1 percent increase from June. Florida had a 12 percent unemployment rate in December before dropping to 10.6 percent in May after posting the best job numbers in the country that month, but has tailed off since. AWI originally reported Floridas June unemployment rate at 10.6 percent, but revised its calculation to 10.7 percent, so the jobless rate is technically unchanged from June.

An additional 4,200 new jobs in June were followed by a loss of 22,100 nonagricultural jobs in July. That leaves Florida's total new jobs for the year at 64,300.

Mixed signals from economic indicators during recovery are common, said AWI Director Cynthia R. Lorenzo.Fluctuations in rates of unemployment and job growth are typical examples of starts and stops while the economy rebounds and unemployed workers who may have given up looking for work rejoin the work force. As Governor Scott continues to pursue new jobs for our state, our agency is committed to ensuring job seekers are connecting with job placement and training services that will position them for these opportunities.