The Palm Beach Post

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See the employment rate in every Florida county at mypalmbeac­hpost. of $14 an hour and $375 a week in April, by far the lowest wages of any sector, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

Universit y of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith saw plent y of hiring in other industries.

“There’s growth in a variet y of sectors and not just the ones that t ypically have lower wages,” Snaith said.

Palm Beach County gained 20,600 posi- tions — and the county’s job growth wasn’t dominated by low-paying jobs. Profession­al and business services, with average pay of $1,076 a week, added 8,400 jobs. Two other sectors — education and health services and trade, transporta­tion and utilities — added 2,800 jobs each.

“Our regional economy is continuing to thrive,” said Steve Craig, president and chief execu- tive of the nonprofit CareerSour­ce Palm Beach County. His organizati­on counts 21,325 job openings in the county.

Because the Great Recession hit harder in Florida than in other parts of the nation, economists said they were unconcerne­d that Florida’s unemployme­nt rate is slightly above the national average.

“We’ve got a lot more damage to repair,” Snaith said.

Snaith and Teshome also saw hopeful signs in Florida’s job market. “Job growth really has broadened,” Teshome said.

Among Florida’s 67 counties, unemployme­nt ranged from a low of 3.6 percent in Monroe Count y to a high of 7.2 percent in Citrus and Putnam counties.

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