Unemployment Down to 10 percent across Florida

With holiday and seasonal hiring in full swing, Floridas unemployment dropped to 10 percent in November, down from 10.3 percent in October, the Department of Economic Opportunity reported Friday.

The latest rate is the lowest for the Sunshine State in 31 months and the Department of Economic Opportunity notes the number represents a 2 percentage-point drop since Gov. Rick Scott took office.

We are continuing to move Florida in the right direction by streamlining government, eliminating burdensome regulations, identifying economic development opportunities and prioritizing education, Scott stated in a release. I am hopeful that we will see Floridas unemployment rate continue to decline as jobs grow and more Floridians find work.

The state DEO noted that for every government job cut, nine private-sector jobs have been created.

Since January, the state has gained 120,200 jobs, with 8,500 added in November.

The November mark is the lowest since May 2009, when it last stood at 10 percent.

DEO Executive Director Doug Darling credited the growth to Scott making Florida more business-friendly and focused on growth.

"Well continue working with our economic and workforce development partners in implementing necessary changes to continue this positive momentum, Darling stated in a release.

Scott proposed a $66.4 billion budget last week that includes $950 million aimed at private business, while letting 2,800 state workers go and eliminating another 1,700 currently vacant state positions.

The state continues to remain above the national average of 8.6 percent, which was reported two weeks ago.

The state announcement comes a day after the U.S. Labor Department announced that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped to its lowest level since May 2008.