Rick Scott: Florida’s private-sector job growth tops large states

Gov. Rick Scott said Monday that Florida’s private-sector growth rate of 3.6 percent in November was the highest among the country’s 10 most-populous states.

November marked the ninth consecutive month Florida was tops among large states. The state’s private-sector job growth rate was also higher than the national growth rate of 2.1 percent.

“Florida businesses have create more than ONE MILLION jobs in only five years, and just last week we learned Florida’s population surpassed 20 million residents,” Scott said in a prepared statement. “As more and more people continue to move to our state, we need to make sure that Florida is first for job creation.”

November also marked the eighth month in a row that Florida has created more private jobs over the year than Texas. Scott has called Texas the state’s “biggest competitor.”

“The Scott administration has worked tirelessly to reshape Florida’s economic policy, enabling the private-sector to flourish. Florida consistently rises above our competitors like Texas because we are committed to making Florida first for job creation,” said Jesse Panuccio, the executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

Since December 2010, businesses across the state have created more than 1 million private sector jobs. The unemployment rate has been on the decline since Scott took office in January 2011. In November, the unemployment rate was 5 percent.

When Scott ran for office in 2010, he promised to create 700,000 jobs in seven years. Scott initially said the promise was on top of natural growth, which state economists said would be about 1 million jobs.

He backed off that prediction after the election, and last year said he met his promise early when the state passed the 700,000 mark.

On Monday, Scott used the state’s private-sector growth rate as a way to pitch his tax cut proposal and call on lawmakers to create a Florida Enterprise Fund. He’s also planning a statewide tour, dubbed the “Million Miles for a Million Jobs” bus tour, in January to push highlight the need for tax cuts and the Florida Enterprise Fund.

That bus tour begins Jan. 13 and is expected to make stops in nine Florida communities.