Enterprise Florida, the public-private business arm of the state, has announced several staff changes.

Business Development

Matt Lowell has been promoted to Business Development director. He joined Enterprise Florida in February 2011 as a Business Development manager.

Government Relations

Mike Preston has been promoted to vice president, Government Relations. Preston joined Enterprise Florida in November 2008.

Military and Defense Support

Unemployment in Florida fell to 8.5 percent in October, the lowest mark the Sunshine State has seen since December 2008, and down from 8.7 percent a month earlier.

The new numbers, released Friday, estimate that the state added 12,100 new private-sector jobs in October.

In October, 12,100 more Floridians found employment in the private sector and the incomes that allow them to provide for their families, particularly with the holidays approaching, Gov. Rick Scott stated in a release.

Florida had an estimated 21.9 million visitors in the third quarter of 2012, a 3.5 percent increase from the same period a year earlier, according to Visit Florida, the states tourism arm.

Of the visitors, Florida recorded a 5.5 percent increase in overseas visitors and 4 percent growth of Canadian travelers.

The increase, according to numbers in a release from the governors office, translates into 15,000 additional travel-related jobs in Florida, a 1.5 percent increase from the third quarter of 2011.