Scott Powers
Florida added another 31,600 private-sector jobs in November, the 56th consecutive month of job growth in the Sunshine State, Gov. Rick Scott announced Friday.
Orlando continued to lead the state in job growth in November, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate went up slightly since October and held at 4.9 percent in November, but that’s two-tenths of a percent lower than it was the previous November.
Florida’s labor force grew by 174,000 over the year, increasing by 64,000 over-the-month in November, and exceeding the national labor force growth rate.
“It’s really good news that we’re continuing to add jobs in the state. The key here is it doesn’t matter what zip code you from, what country you come from, you should have the opportunity to live the dream of this country right here,” Scott said.
Scott made the announcement Friday at the offices of HostDime, a cloud-hosting service in the Orlando suburb of Eatonville, which is Florida’s oldest historically black town. HostDime’s current Central Florida, 120-worker operation is in a modest light-industrial rooms in the back of a furniture warehouse, but the company has broken ground on a shiny, new seven-story office building to be constructed not far away, still in Eatonville, pledging to add another 50 jobs after it opens in a couple of years.
Scott, who will be attending a rally with President-elect Donald Trump later Friday, also said, “Next month we will have a new president, Donald Trump, who is laser focused on growing American jobs and turning around our national economy like we have done in Florida.”
Over the year, construction and leisure and hospitality led the state in job growth, with the construction sector adding 23,200 jobs, increasing its employment by 5.3 percent, and the tourism industry adding 57,300 more jobs, increasing its employment by 5 percent. The professional and business services sector, which includes HostDime, and the education and health services sector, also each added 50,000 jobs in the past year.
“Businesses all across the state in the past year have added jobs at a pace that is more than double that of the nation, and that families all across the state, actually 250,000 in the past year, now have a job and can go to work every day,” said DEO Executive Director Cissy Proctor.
