Gov. Rick Scott announced in Naples on Friday that the unemployment rate in Florida dropped to 5.4 percent as almost 17,000 new jobs were created in the month. In June, the unemployment rate was 5.5 percent, the lowest it had been since March 2008.
Scott noted that the unemployment rate dropped from 6 percent in July 2014 and had declined to 5.3 percent since December 2010, the last full month before his predecessor, then-Gov. Charlie Crist, was in office. Last year, Scott defeated Crist to win a second term.
“I am excited to announce that more than 917,400 private-sector jobs have been created in our state since December 2010,” Scott said on Friday. “Thousands of Floridians are finding new opportunities to find a great job, provide for their loved ones, and achieve their dreams in our great state. We are working hard to continue cutting taxes and reducing regulations so more businesses will grow and expand here.”
Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Executive Director Jesse Panuccio called July “another strong month of job creation” and said the Sunshine State was doing better than the national average when it came to job growth, even as the national unemployment rate stood at 5.3 percent in July.
“We continue to outpace national growth, and our business climate continues to be one of the best in the nation,” Panuccio said.
In the last year, the trade, transportation and utilities industry has led the way with 57,400 new jobs, growing 3.5 percent. With Florida seeing record-high numbers of tourists both in 2014 and in the first half of 2015, the leisure and hospitality industry continues to grow in the Sunshine State with more than 52,300 jobs, a growth of almost 5 percent over the last year. Private education and health services jobs are also on the rise, adding 48,400 jobs, more than 4.2 percent over the past year.
Monroe County in the southern part of the state had the lowest unemployment rate at 3.9 percent in July. St. Johns County on the First Coast was next with 4 percent. Franklin County had an unemployment rate of 4.4 percent while Okaloosa County’s rate was 4.5 percent for July.
Hendry County had the highest unemployment rate with 12.7 percent but it was the only county in Florida with a double-digit unemployment rate. Hardee County had the second highest at 9.2 percent with Highlands County next at 8.3 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
