FLORIDA
JOBLESS RATE
REMAINS AT
3.8 PERCENT
by NSF Staff
Florida’s unemployment
mark held steady from May
to June, the state Department
of Economic Opportunity
announced Friday. The
jobless rate of 3.8 percent
reflected an estimated
387,000 Floridians out of
work --- 4,000 fewer than
in May --- from a growing
workforce of more than 10.2
million. Gov. Rick Scott, who
held a news conference at
Hull’s Seafood in Ormond
Beach to announce the
numbers, issued a statement
touting the creation of
16,900 private-sector jobs
over the past month. The
16
state’s unemployment
figure bettered the national
mark, which rose from 3.8
percent to 4 percent from
May to June, according to
the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics. Florida was one
of 38 states, as well as the
District of Columbia, that
had no changes in their
unemployment rates. Over
the past year, Florida ranked
third in terms of overall job
creation, with 170,500 new
jobs, trailing 359,500 new
jobs in Texas and 269,100 in
California, the U.S. Bureau
of Statistics reported. The
lowest jobless marks last
month in Florida were
found in the Crestview-
DITCHMEN • JUNE / JULY 2018
Fort Walton Beach-Destin
metropolitan statistical area
at 3.1 percent, followed by
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford
at 3.5 percent. The highest
unemployment rates for
metropolitan statistical areas
were in The Villages, at 5.7
percent, and Homosassa
Springs, at 5.6 percent. Next
highest was the Sebring
metropolitan statistical area
at 5.4 percent. The statewide
unemployment rate was
seasonally adjusted, while
the rates for the metropolitan
statistical areas were not
adjusted.
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