Florida's Latest Job Figures Show a Decline in Unemployment
Monday, March 17, 2014
By: Michelle Smith

March 14th, 2014 | WMFE, Orlando- Florida's unemployment rate in January was the lowest it's been since 2008, according to new figures from the Department of Economic Opportunity.

The January 2014 seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.1%, down from 6.2% in December last year. The number of jobs in the state has also jumped by 192,800, a 2.6% increase since 2013.

90.7 economic commentator Hank Fishkind says there are a couple of reasons for the downturn in unemployment.

"The unemployment rate is down to 6.1%, a great low point in part that was due to great job growth and in part it was due to less growth in the labor force," says Fishkind.

"So again we have those same two factors but Florida's economy continues to improve as we've expected."

Leisure and hospitality industry led the way in job growth in Central Florida, where the unemployment rate fell by 2.4% in the last 12 months. Governor Rick Scott praised the Orlando metro area for gaining the most jobs compared to all metro areas in Florida since January 2013.

CareerSource Central Florida reported that more than 38,800 Floridians were placed in jobs. These new figures continue the states six-month run of falling below the nation's unemployment rate.

Employment data for February 2014 wll be released on March 28th by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.