Gov. Scott: Florida Unemployment Rate Drops to 3.3 Percent

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that Florida’s unemployment rate dropped in November from 3.4 to 3.3 percent, the lowest level in 12 years. Every county in Florida has experienced a drop in the unemployment rate since December 2010. Florida businesses have created more than 1.67 million private-sector jobs since December 2010, including 23,000 private-sector jobs in November. Over the past year, 251,200 new private-sector jobs were created in Florida. Florida’s annual job growth rate has outpaced the nation for 79 of the past 80 months. The only month that Florida did not exceed the nation was due to Hurricane Irma.

Governor Scott said, “Being Governor is the best job in the world, and I am excited about the economic success that Florida has been able to achieve over the past eight years. Our unemployment rate being at 3.3 percent and nearly 1.7 million jobs being created since December 2010 has allowed so many Floridians the opportunity to live their dreams in the Sunshine State. I will never stop working on what’s important to Floridians – jobs, a great education and safe communities.”

Florida’s unemployment rate of 3.3 percent represents a drop of 7.5 percentage points since December 2010; this drop is faster than the national decline of 5.6 percentage points. This is while 116,000 people entered Florida’s labor force, a growth of 1.1 percent in the past year. Florida’s annual job growth rate of 3.3 percent continues to exceed the nation’s rate of 1.9 percent.

Cissy Proctor, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity said, “Florida has remained committed to job creation under Governor Scott’s leadership, providing opportunities for hardworking Floridians in all counties to find meaningful employment. Our state has built a strong diverse economy that has Florida families working, Florida communities growing and Florida businesses thriving and expanding.”

Other positive economic indicators include:

• Private-sector industries gaining the most jobs over-the-year were:
• Leisure and hospitality with 53,200 new jobs;
• Education and health services with 50,700 new jobs;
• Professional and business services with 45,400 new jobs;
• Construction with 32,900 new jobs;
• Trade, transportation and utilities with 25,400 new jobs; and
• Financial activities with 17,900 new jobs.
• Florida job postings showed 265,337 openings in November 2018.
• Consumer Sentiment Index is 95.1, up from 70.2 in December 2010.

To view the November 2018 employment data visit www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.