Drew Wilson
Gov. Rick Scott certainly didn’t waste any time touting July’s job growth numbers.
According to new Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Florida’s private sector job growth rate was the highest among the 10 most populous states for July.
“It is clear that our state is the best place to live the American Dream. I am excited to announce that for the fifth consecutive month, Florida is leading other large states in job growth, and beating our number one competitor, Texas,” Scott said in a news release.
The data puts Florida’s private sector job growth rate at 3.8 percent for July, handily beating the national rate of 2.4 percent and the rate of other large states. Nominally, the state saw a gain of 16,900 jobs for the month, while Texas gained 22,500, though Texas has about 7 million more residents than Florida.
Florida’s unemployment rate, which was 5.4 percent in July, was higher than the national rate of 5.3 percent and Texas’ 4.2 percent unemployment rate. Wages also lagged compared to Texas. Private sector workers in the Lone Star State make $877 a week on average compared to $767 a week for Florida workers.
Overall, Florida added 256,300 private sector jobs for the 12 months ending in July 2015, an improvement of about 13,000 jobs over the 12 months ending July 2014. Texas added 236,200 jobs for the 12 months ending in July.
The governor said that for Florida to overtake Texas as the “number one state for jobs,” he would need more funding for Enterprise Florida, the state’s economic development arm.
The 2015-16 Florida budget included about $43 million for economic development, which is a far cry from the $85 million Scott asked for in the lead-up to the 2015 session. By comparison, the 2014-15 budget had $71 million set aside for incentives, and the 2013-14 budget had $102 million.
