Florida led nation in job growth in January

Florida leads the nation in job growth according to new federal jobless reports.

Florida’s unemployment rate dropped slightly to 5 percent in January according to state officials. That’s higher than the national jobless rate of 4.9 percent.

But the state did add 32,200 jobs that month. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that this was the highest number of jobs added by any state in January. Texas was second with 31,400 jobs added.

Gov. Rick Scott announced the new jobless numbers during a stop in Orlando at Orion Technologies. Scott has made job creation the central focus of his administration.

Monroe County, which is where Key West is located, continues to have the lowest unemployment rate at 3.3 percent. Hendry County had the highest jobless rate at 8.4 percent.

Republished with permission of the Associated Press.