Florida jobless rate levels; Orlando jobs improve again

Florida’s unemployment rate is leveling out after dropping for years following the Great Recession, rising a bit to 3.7 percent in December, up a 10th of a percent compared to November, according to new data released Friday.

Orlando’s jobless rate was reported at a very low 3.3 percent for December, a full percentage point lower than a year ago. Metro-area figures such as Orlando’s haven’t been adjusted yet for seasonal fluctuation.

The statewide jobless rate was 1.2 percent lower than a year ago.

There were 374,000 unemployed people in Florida, out of a labor force of 10,127,000.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in December.

The preliminary unemployment rates for local counties all showed a drop from November to December, and compared to a year ago:

Orange: 3.1 percent, down from 3.4 percent in November and from 4.2 percent a year ago.

Seminole: 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent in November and from 4.1 percent a year ago.

Lake: 3.5 percent, down from 3.7 percent in November and from 4.7 percent a year ago.

Osceola: 3.7 percent, down from 3.9 percent in November and from 4.8 percent a year ago.

Orlando led the state in the number of jobs added over the past 12 months, at 46,300.

Gov. Rick Scott noted in a news release that Orlando has led the state in job creation often in recent years, and for five consecutive months.

Orlando’s job growth was still led by the relatively lowpaying hospitality sector, at 10,900 jobs over the past 12 months — but professional and business service jobs grew by almost as much at 10,800. Manufacturing was next, at 5,600 jobs.

Orlando also remained the second-highest metro area in demand for high-skill, highwage STEM occupations with 10,157 openings.