WUFT News News and Public Media for North Central Florida from the University of Florida in Gainesville
Florida’s unemployment rate is going up slightly.
State officials on Friday announced the state’s jobless rate was 4.8 percent in October. That’s a slight increase over the September rate, although it’s lower than the national jobless rate of 4.9 percent. The unemployment rate has hovered around the same place for much of this year.
Florida added 5,700 jobs in October. That number trailed behind at least ten other states in the nation including Alabama, California, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Gov. Rick Scott announced the jobs numbers during a visit to Ideal Aluminum, a manufacturer of gates, railings and fences located in St. Augustine. Scott has made job growth his main focus as governor.
Monroe County, home to Key West, had the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 3.3 percent. Hendry County had the highest at 9.7 percent.
