Governor Rick Scott announced today that Florida businesses created 237,300 new private-sector jobs in 2016, bringing the total number of jobs created since December 2010 to 1,262,100. For the 57th consecutive month, Florida’s annual job growth rate of 3.3 percent is exceeding the nation’s rate of 1.6 percent.
Governor Scott said, “I am proud to announce that Florida businesses continued to grow throughout the past year, adding more than 237,000 new jobs in 2016. Over the last six years, we’ve worked each day to make it easier for job creators to invest and create new opportunities in our state, and we will continue to do everything we can to help Florida outcompete other locations as the best place for jobs. Today, as we proudly welcome a new president who will make job creation a top priority across our nation, we stand ready to fight for another great year of economic growth in Florida.”
Florida’s labor force has grown by 223,000 over the year, increasing by 66,000 over the month in December alone and exceeding the national labor force growth rate. This shows that more Floridians are confident in their ability to find a new opportunity in the job market. The state’s unemployment rate remained low at 4.9 percent in December 2016.
Cissy Proctor, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, said, “With more than 250,000 job openings across the state and more than 1.25 million new private-sector jobs created in the last six years, it’s clear Florida is a great place to find a good job. Our low unemployment rate and strong record of job creation prove Florida is a great state to do business.”
Other positive economic indicators include:
- Private-sector industries with the highest job growth over the year in December were:
- Leisure and hospitality with 53,100 new jobs,
- Education and health services with 46,800 new jobs,
- Professional and business services with 46,200 new jobs, and
- Trade, transportation and utilities with 35,600 new jobs.
- Florida job postings showed 254,587 openings in December 2016, a 4.2 percent increase over the previous month.
- In December, Florida’s 24 regional workforce boards reported more than 30,084 Floridians, including 1,444 veterans, were placed in jobs.
To view the December 2016 employment data visit www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.
