Unemployment in Florida Rises to 11.9 Percent

On Friday morning, the Agency for Workforce Innovation (AWI) announced that the unemployment rate continued to grow in Florida during September. AWI revealed that the unemployment rate increased from 11.8 percent in August to 11.9 percent in September -- meaning 1,100,000 Floridians out of a pool of 9,242,000 were out of work. More than 11,000 Floridians lost their jobs in August.

As the nation slowly emerges from the economic recession, Floridas work-force partners remain focused on identifying growth industries and helping to prepare job seekers for current and future opportunities, said Cynthia Lorenzo, director of AWI. Despite continued fluctuations in unemployment rates, there are encouraging indicators of recovery in Florida, including recent increases in online job postings and over-the-year job growth.