With less than two weeks to go until the general election, Floridas unemployment continues to grow -- and the politicians are attempting to point the blame at their opponents.
On Friday morning, the Agency for Workforce Innovation (AWI) announced that the unemployment rate continued to grow in Florida during September. AWI revealed that therate 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.
The national unemployment rate remained at 9.6 percent in September -- the same as it was 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.
While the state continued to lose jobs in financial activities, construction and manufacturing, there was an increase in the number of jobs in hospitality, private education and health services.
While 52 counties had double-digit unemployment in September -- the same number as in August -- Hendry County had the highest unemployment rate in the state at 20.2 percent. Flagler, St. Lucie and Indian River counties all had unemployment rates higher than 15 percent, while Hardee and Hernando counties both stood at 14.8 percent.
The counties with the lowest unemployment rate were clustered mainly in the northern part of the state. Liberty County had the lowest rate at 7 percent, with Walton, Okaloosa, Alachua, Leon and Jackson counties behind it. Most of the counties with the lowest unemployment rates are those with relatively high proportions of government employment, admitted AWI in the report they released on Friday chronicling the unemployment situation in September. Alachua County is the home of the University of Florida while Leon County contains Tallahassee with its state agencies and universities.
With the election little more than a week away and early voting already started, candidates across Florida pointed the blame for Floridas continuing high unemployment at their political rivals.
Republican candidate Marco Rubio, the front-runner in the U.S. Senate race, blamed the economic policies of President Barack Obama -- which he added were embraced by his two opponents, Gov. Charlie Crist who is running with no party affiliation and Democratic nominee U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek.
"With the support of my two opponents, Washington has spent the past 20 months pursuing policies that have created an environment of job-crippling uncertainty in Florida and across America, said Rubio. Having 1,100,000 Floridians out of work is a sobering reminder of the consequences bad policies have.
"Washington's legacy of misspending, its unhealthy belief that politicians create jobs, and the job-crippling effect of potential tax hikes and Obamacare will take years to undo and courageous leaders who will step up to this challenge while proposing a clear alternative,said Rubio. We can't afford more of this Washington agenda, and the American people will soon have an opportunity to show that we won't stand for it.
Meek blamed Republicans for the mess.
"It is clear that we need to get our economy working again for middle-class families, said Meek, who is in third place in the polls. From day one, I've been committed to addressing these problems head-on by closing special tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and repealing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.
"As Floridians continue early voting, let's remember what the stakes truly are: Will Florida's next senator stand up for the middle class, or turn back the clock to the same old, discredited Republican policies that drove us into the ditch in the first place? added Meek.
The gubernatorial candidates also weighed in on the matter -- and both Democratic nominee state CFO Alex Sink and Republican candidate Rick Scott focused on their experience creating jobs in the private sector.
Todays new unemployment numbers reiterate what so many of you already know; Florida is in trouble, said Sink. We used to be a leader in job creation and now our statewide unemployment rate is above the national average, and growing. Florida needs a leader with an extensive economic plan for job creation and the experience and know-how to implement it. I have that plan and I have the experience to get Florida back on track. As governor I will bring both along with my history of integrity and effectiveness to Tallahassee so I can turn Floridas economy around and be nobodys governor but yours.
The Scott camp fired back, connecting Sink with President Barack Obama who polls show is unpopular in Florida despite carrying the Sunshine State in 2008.
Todays job numbers show that Florida is desperately in need of change and in this election voters have a clear choice, said Trey Stapleton, a spokesman for Scott. They can vote for Alex Sink, an Obama liberal who believes in increasing spending and government with no clear way of how to pay for it. Or they can vote for Rick Scott, who has a proven record of creating private-sector jobs and has a clear plan to turn Floridas economy around.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting(850) 727-0859end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
