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Gov. Scott in Melbourne to Tout .1% Unemployment Rate Drop


September 20th, 2013 | WMFE - Florida's unemployment rate has dropped slightly, the first decrease since before the summer. Governor Rick Scott stopped at a construction site dedication in Melbourne Friday to announce August's jobless rate of 7%, down .1% from July.

Governor Scott revealed the latest numbers at an event near Melbourne International Airport, at the site of aerospace company Northrop Grumman’s planned expansion. The company's new aviation center is expected to create 1,000 jobs in an area hit hard by the space shuttle program’s retirement. 

Before August’s drop, Florida’s unemployment rate had been flat at 7.1% for three straight months.

Meanwhile, Orange County’s jobless numbers fell .3% percent in August to 6.5%, as did Brevard’s, now at 7.5%. Seminole County’s rate stands at 6% for August, after a .5% drop from July.

Governor Scott has used the state's dropping unemployment rate as part of his re-election pitch for next year. However, state economists released a report this summer saying some of the decline in unemployment comes from people giving up or putting off the search for a job.

Florida's unemployment rate is below the national average of 7.3%.

 

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