March 28, 2024

Press Release

Gov. Scott: Statewide unemployment rate falls to 6.2 percent

| 1/24/2014

Governor Rick Scott today announced that the statewide unemployment rate for December 2013 was 6.2 percent. The statewide unemployment rate has remained below the national average since April 2013. Florida added 13,500 private sector jobs in December 2013 and the state has created a total of 462,100 private sector jobs since December 2010.

Governor Scott said, “Once again we continue to distance ourselves from the national unemployment rate and create opportunities for Florida families. In December 2013, Florida experienced another significant drop in the statewide unemployment rate – down now to 6.2 percent, the lowest since June 2008. With 462,100 new private sector jobs created since December 2010, opportunities continue to increase for Florida families and it’s clear that our economic policies are working.”

Florida’s annual job growth rate of 2.6 percent in December 2013 was the fastest since June 2006. The state’s annual job growth rate has exceeded or been equal to the nation’s rate since March 2012.

DEO Executive Director Jesse Panuccio said, “Florida’s opportunity economy is getting stronger each month. With our unemployment rate dropping to 6.2 percent in December, job creation continuing to climb, and another month of all-time high job demand, we can see that the low-tax policies and pro-business initiatives of the Scott administration are working.”

Since December 2010, Florida’s statewide unemployment rate has dropped 4.9 percentage points, from a rate of 11.1 percent to December’s rate of 6.2 percent. The current rate of 6.2 percent represents the lowest statewide unemployment rate since June 2008. It is also a decrease of 1.7 percentage points from December 2012, when the rate was 7.9 percent. Florida’s unemployment rate has now declined year-over-year for 38 consecutive months.

More Jobs Being Created

  • Florida experienced positive annual job growth for 41 consecutive months.
  • Florida’s job growth month-to-month has been positive for 28 of the last 30 months.
  • Florida has created 462,100 new private sector jobs since December 2010.
  • Florida is expected to create more than 1 million new jobs by 2018, according to the Florida Economic Estimating Conference. 
  • Florida job postings compiled by the Help Wanted OnLine data series from The Conference Board showed 285,808 openings in December 2013. This was an all-time high in the data series that began in May 2005.

Home Sales Robust

  • Home sales remain robust as the backlog of existing homes on the market is down by 33.4 percent from December 2011 (Florida Realtors).
  • Florida median home prices were up 11.4 percent over the year in December 2013.
  • Florida housing starts were up 17.1 percent over the year in November 2013.

Economic Growth Trends Up Across State

  • A recent U.S. Census Survey reported that Florida experienced an influx of people moving into the state. Florida also led the nation in migrations from Puerto Rico.
  • Florida is running a trade surplus of over $18 billion – with $90.4 billion in exports and $71.8 billion in imports in 2012, up from $86.8 billion in exports in 2011 and $62.4 billion in imports in 2011.

Workforce Boards Assisting in Employment

  • In December, Florida’s 24 Regional Workforce Boards reported more than 40,800 Floridians were placed in jobs. An individual who receives employment and training assistance through a One-Stop Career Center and finds a job within 180 days is deemed a placement and may be reported by a regional workforce board. Of these individuals, 10,542 previously received Reemployment Assistance. 
  • In 2013, more than 479,000 Floridians were placed in jobs, with 135,384 former claimants finding employment.

To view the December 2013 employment data visit:
www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.

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