Sixth Straight Month of Florida Job Growth
November 20th, 2020 by Mike VasilindaFlorida’s unemployment rate continues to fall.
Numbers released Friday show it was at 6.5 percent for October, down seven tenths of a percent from September, but there are still 659,000 Floridians looking for work.
Between February and April, Florida lost nearly 1.2 million jobs.
More than half, just under 700,000, have returned.
“Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in October 2020 was 6.5 percent. This represented 659,000 individuals out of a labor force of 10,101,000,” said DEO Chief Economist Adrienne Johnston.
More jobs came back in October.
“Up 61,100 jobs, or point eight percent from September 2020,” said Johnston.
Friday’s release marked the sixth straight month of job gains in the state.
But the figures do show 14,000 people became discouraged and stopped looking for work in October.
That means they aren’t counted as unemployed.
Seven out of ten industries gained jobs in October.
“Leisure and hospitality gained 29,600 jobs over the month, driven by 21,100 jobs gained in accommodations and food services. Profession and business services added 13,000 jobs,” said Johnston.
Job losers were education, health care, information and government.
Still, 19 of 24 job markets in the state saw job growth last month.
“The Tampa metro area gained the most jobs with 5,800 and Cape Coral grew the fastest at 1.8 percent,” said Johnston.
At 10.4 percent Osceola County, the home of Disney, continues to have the highest unemployment rate in the state.
That’s before Disney’s announced 18,000 lay offs next month.
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