Florida created 23,000 private sector jobs in August, once again exceeding the nation’s growth rate.
The statewide unemployment rate for August is 6.3 percent, down 0.8 percentage points from the August rate, according to a release from Gov. Rick Scott’s office. The state’s unemployment rate has dropped 4.8 percentage points since December 2010.
“The creation of 23,000 private sector jobs in Florida last month is another strong chapter in Florida’s economic turnaround story,” said Jesse Panuccio, executive director of the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity, in a release. “With measurable growth last month in the manufacturing and business and professional services industries, we can see that our efforts to foster the creation of high-skill, high-wage jobs are paying off for Florida families.”
Florida job postings compiled by the Help Wanted OnLine data service showed 273,281 openings in August. Florida’s 24 regional workforce boards reported more than 38,400 people were placed in jobs. Someone who received employment and training assistance through a CareerSource Center and finds a job within 180 days is deemed a placement, and may be reported by a regional workforce board. Of those, 8,134 had previously received unemployment benefits.
Florida is currently running a trade surplus of more than $18 billion, with $90.4 billion in exports and $71.8 billion in imports in 2012, compared to $86.8 billion in exports and $62.4 billion in imports in 2011.
