ORLANDO, Fla. — Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that the Orlando area had the highest job creation in the state, adding 39,500 new private-sector jobs in the last year for the fourth month in a row. The unemployment rate in Orlando was 3.5 percent, down 0.9 percentage point from one year ago. Statewide, Florida businesses created 13,900 new jobs in November and the unemployment rate remained at 3.6 percent, the lowest rate in more than a decade. Since December 2010, Florida businesses have created 1,465,800 new private-sector jobs.
Governor Scott said, “I am proud to announce that Orlando led the state with the most jobs created this past year, adding more than 39,000 new jobs for families. We are proud to see job creators continue to grow in Central Florida and look forward to another great year of more opportunities being created so families can succeed in Florida.”
Orlando led the state in job growth over the year in the following industries:
- Professional and business services with 10,200 new jobs;
- Financial activities with 5,600 new jobs; and
- Manufacturing with 5,100 new jobs.
In November, the Orlando area remained second among state metro areas in job demand with 37,783 job openings. Orlando also remained the second-highest metro area in demand for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations with 11,033 openings.
In the last year, 199,000 people entered Florida’s labor force, a growth of 2.0 percent. This rate is nearly three times the national labor force growth rate of only 0.7 percent. In November, 16,990 Floridians were placed in jobs by CareerSource Central Florida and the state’s other 23 local workforce boards.
To view the November 2017 employment data visit www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.
