Florida’s unemployment figures still at 10-year low

Florida’s unemployment rate remains at a 10-year low, according to November figures in a release from Gov. Rick Scott on Friday.

Metro Orlando led the state with 39,500 new jobs created in the past year, lowering the region’s unemployment rate by 0.9 percentage points to 3.5 percent.

In the past year, 199,000 people have joined Florida’s labor force, representing a 2 percent increase that’s nearly three times the national rate.

Still, the unemployment rate remains unchanged from October at 3.6 percent, according to Cissy Proctor, executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

About 369,000 Floridians were out of work in November from a workforce of 10.1 million. Florida added 13,900 jobs during the month.

Florida's jobless rate is better than the national mark of 4.1 percent, which also remained unchanged in the month-to-month comparison.

Proctor said businesses are recovering from Hurricane Irma, a storm that struck in September.

Construction was the top industry for statewide job gains year-over-year, with 41,800 added, according to the release. Following were professional and business services; trade, transportation and utilities; finance; and education and health.

In Orlando, professional and business services led the way with 10,200 jobs added yearover-year, nearly double the next-closest sector of finance.

A solid economy has been reflected in other regards in the state, Scott said.

“Over the past seven years, we have turned around Florida’s economy which has allowed us to make record investments in education, transportation and environmental protection,” he said.

Government jobs were down by 800 in Florida for the month, of which 700 were on the federal level.