Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Florida’s unemployment rate remained unchanged in June, marking the second month in a row where the jobless rate was at 4.7 percent.
The rate has steadily been on the decline, and the June unemployment numbers mark the lowest rate since 2007. The rate is below the national unemployment rate of 4.9 percent in June.
“Florida added another solid chapter to our economic story in June,” said Cissy Proctor, executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. “Our unemployment rate is below the national rate, even while nearly 1,000 people are moving in Florida each day and searching for new jobs.”
According to the Department of Economic Opportunity, all of the state’s metro areas had year-over-year job gains in June. The Orlando metro area led the state, adding 49,000 private-sector jobs from June 2015 to June 2016.
In an area known as a tourist destination, it likely comes as no surprise the leisure and hospitality industry saw significant gains in the one-year period. According to the governor’s office, the leisure and hospitality sector added 13,500 new jobs year-over-year; followed by the construction industry with 9,500 new jobs; and the education and health services with 8,300 new jobs.
The unemployment rate for the Orlando metro area was 4.5 percent in June.
“Our focus on cutting taxes and making it easier for businesses to create new opportunities is clearly working to put Florida on the path to becoming first for jobs,” said Gov. Rick Scott in a statement Friday.
The Tampa Bay area added 44,900 private sector jobs year-over-year, and had an unemployment rate of 4.6 percent in June. The professional and business services industry saw 14,700 new jobs in the year-long period, followed by the leisure and hospitality industry with 7,400 new jobs.
Scott announced the monthly jobs numbers at Port Tampa Bay Friday morning during the commission of two new post-Panamax gantry cranes to help the port accommodate larger container vessels.
The state added 102,600 new jobs since January. The Naples Republicans said the state’s annual job growth has “outpaced the nation for more than 50 consecutive months” and more than 1.2 million Floridians “have found new opportunities to get a job and provide for their families.”
Monroe County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate in June, at 3.1 percent. Hendry County had the highest unemployment rate last month, with an unemployment rate of 10 percent.
