Rick Scott Touts Job Availability in Florida

Gov. Rick Scott praised the availability of jobs in Florida on Thursday -- available job openings in Florida increased in February 2014 compared to the previous February by 9,727, or 3.6 percent, for a total of 278,717 openings.

According to a press release, these figures from Help Wanted Online are an all-time high in the data series, which began nearly a decade ago in May 2005.

Job postings in Florida also increased over the month compared to January 2014 by 8,204 openings or 3.0 percent.

Another record month for job demand in Florida is great news for Florida families," said Scott. "Every job posting represents an opportunity for a Florida family and a chance to achieve their dreams. With an unemployment rate at 6.1 percent, the lowest unemployment rate in the state since June 2008, and the creation of 500,000 private sector jobs since December 2010, it is clear that our job creation efforts are working.

According to the Help Wanted OnLine data series, online job demand was highest in the state's large metro cities, led by Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, and Ft. Lauderdale.

Among cities with the most openings, the highest percentage gain over the year was Sarasota with 36.4 percent growth.