Fla. Unemployment Rate Drops To 11.5%
TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) - Florida's unemployment rate followed the national numbers and showed moderate improvement in the past month. Florida's rate dropped from 11.9 percent in January to 11.5 percent in February.
"This decrease in Florida's unemployment rate, combined with continued job growth, is welcome news and provides additional evidence that our economy is getting back on track," said Agency for Workforce Innovation Director Cynthia Lorenzo.
But, Florida's rate still is much higher than the national average of 8.9 percent and the drop could be people simply giving up looking for work.
"The dip in the number of Floridians who are out of work is an encouraging sign and cause for guarded optimism," Governor Rick Scott said in a statement. "However, 11.5 percent unemployment is still unacceptable because more than one million Floridians need jobs. That is why I remain focused on making Florida the best place to start or grow a business."
According to the AWI, only 14 percent of the employees it surveyed plan to hire more workers between April and June. Seventy-six percent plan on maintaining their current staffing levels.
Florida increased the number of jobs in February from February 2010 by 32,000. It's the fifth consecutive month with positive annual job growth since July 2007.
Locally, Broward County showed the biggest improvement in the unemployment rate. The jobless rate in Broward dropped from 10.5 percent in January to 9.7 percent in February. The drop leaves the number of unemployed workers in Broward County at 9.7 percent.
The news wasn't nearly as good in Miami-Dade County. In January, the unemployment rate in Miami-Dade stood at 12.1 percent. In February, it did fall, but only to 11.8 percent. That left more than 152,000 workers looking for jobs in Miami-Dade County.
Miami-Dade County's unemployment rate was the 14th worst rate in the entire state of Florida. Broward's unemployment rate ranked 47th in the state of Florida. The Miami-Miami Beach metro area ranked as the fifth-worst in the state for jobs.
Monroe County's unemployment rate stood at 6.9 percent, which is the best rate in the state. Only 3,165 people in Monroe County are currently unemployed. Monroe County's unemployment rate dropped 0.7 percent from January to February.
