With the signing of the 2020 budget Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis' announcement about Florida’s continued strengthening economy might have been overlooked.
The governor said businesses are still expanding to Florida, just as they have for the last eight years, creating a strong private-sector job growth rate. The governor puts this success the good news down to low taxes, reasonable regulations and a top-rated university system.
He said economic indicators for the month of May include these:
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Florida’s annual private-sector job growth rate of 2.7 percent continues to outpace the national job growth rate of 1.8 percent.
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Florida’s private-sector businesses created more than 208,000 jobs over the year and 16,000 in May 2019.
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A low unemployment rate of 3.4 percent.
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124,000 people entered the labor force over the year at an annual growth rate of 1.2 percent.
“Businesses are coming to Florida because we support low taxes and reasonable regulations across all industries,” said DeSantis. “We will keep working to develop a resilient, business-friendly environment so every Floridian and their communities may have the opportunity to achieve economic prosperity.”
Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Ken Lawson commented, “This month’s announcement shows the confidence businesses have in our state. We will continue to work with businesses to support a diverse economic environment by prioritizing disaster recovery, community development and workforce training.”
Private-sector industries gaining the most jobs over-the-year were these:
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Education and health services with 46,000 new jobs;
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Professional and business services with 38,400 new jobs;
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Leisure and hospitality with 37,700 new jobs;
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Construction with 28,000 new jobs;
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Financial activities with 21,200 new jobs; and
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Trade, transportation and utilities with 19,900 new jobs.
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Florida job postings showed 289,717 openings in May 2019.
To view the May 2019 jobs report by region, click on these: Fort Lauderdale; Jacksonville; Miami; Orlando; Pensacola; Southwest Florida; Tampa; and West Palm Beach.
