Florida jobless rate at 2.9 %
Jim Turner and Tom Urban
While still near historically low levels , Florida ’ s unemployment rate inched up to 2.9 percent in November .
The November rate was an increase from 2.8 percent in October and represented 324,000 people out of work from a labor force of 11.19 million , according to a report released Friday by the Florida Department of Commerce .
After spending the first half of the year at 2.6 percent , the rate has slowly risen since July . The state ’ s record low was 2.4 percent during the housing boom of 2006 .
The labor force grew by 350,000 people from November 2022 to November 2023 . The unemployment rate in November 2022 was 2.7 percent
“ Florida has been leading the nation in new business formations since 2019 ,” Jimmy Heckman , the Department of Commerce ’ s chief of workforce statistics and economic research , said . “ Each year since 2019 , there have been more new business formations in Florida than in any other state . We think
8 DITCHMEN • DECEMBER 2023