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Florida’s Jobless FOUR
Rate BALLOT
Dips PROPOSALS
in September
NSF Staff
TOP 300,000
SIGNATURES
Florida’s unemployment rate ticked down to 3.2 percent in
September, the state reported Friday. The rate, down from 3.3
percent in
represented
an estimated
336,000 in Florid-
Sprinting to submit enough petition signatures
to August,
A proposal
that would
change a provision
the
ians
out
of
work
from
a
workforce
of
10.4
million,
get on the November 2020 ballot, backers of four
state Constitution about the citizenship according
of voters
to numbers
by the
state
Department
proposed constitutional amendments have
topped released
had 303,675
valid
signatures.
To get of
on Economic
the 2020
Opportunity.
seasonally
adjusted
figure,
to a
300,000 valid signatures reported to
the state The
ballot,
each of the
proposals
would compared
need at least
national
rate
of
3.5
percent
for
September,
included
a
reduc-
Division of Elections. As of Tuesday, a proposed
766,200 valid signatures. Political committees
tion
in the number
of Floridians
out of work submit
by 6,000
from the
constitutional amendment that would
gradually
supporting
the proposals
petition
increase the state’s minimum wage to August
$15 an hour
signatures
to county
of elections,
who were
numbers
and 7,000
from supervisors
a year earlier.
The gains
had 372,879 valid signatures. It was followed
by a by growth
verify the
of the signatures.
bolstered
in legitimacy
the workforce
by 34,000 Supervisors
from August
proposal that would revamp the state’s
primary-
then
report
the
numbers
of
valid
signatures
to
to September and by 154,000 from September 2018. Educa-
election system. That proposal had 355,805
valid
state. In
addition to for needing
meet
tion and health the
services
accounted
59,600 to
new
jobs the
over
signatures reported to the Division of
Elections.
766,200-signature
threshold,
the
committees
the past year, followed by 49,200 jobs in professional and
The third-highest total, 350,808 valid business
signatures,
also will
approval
the Florida
Supreme
services
and need
30,300
jobs from
in fields
involving
leisure
was reported for a proposal that would overhaul
Court of the wording of their ballot proposals.
and hospitality. Construction has grown by 16,200 jobs over
and deregulate the state’s electric-utility industry.
the past year, with manufacturing positions up 7,700. Region-
ally, the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metropolitan statistical
area had the largest growth over the past year at 48,800 jobs.
• • •
Over the past year, only the Panama City and Sebring statis-
tical areas showed job losses. The Panama City area, which
was hit by Category 5 Hurricane Michael in October 2018, was
down 2,000 jobs from September 2018. The Sebring area was
off 200 jobs in the same period.
NSF Staff
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