Tallahassee, FL - Florida's Governor says an expansion in industries is leading to an increase in the labor force.
Earlier today (March 22nd), Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the Florida labor force continues to grow with 170,000 people entering the labor force.
That marks an annual growth rate of 1.7%, which is 0.2% up from January 2019's numbers.
In the past year, Florida added 206,300 jobs in the private sector overall, with 24,300 being created in February of 2019.
“Florida’s economy is working,” said Governor DeSantis. “We have to continue this success by keeping taxes low and regulations limited, supporting policy to make Florida the best state for career and technical education, and making important investments in the environment and Florida’s infrastructure.”
With the addition of jobs and workers, Florida's non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 3.4%, a 0.5% drop from January's numbers.
The current unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) for the United States sits at 4.1%, a 0.3% drop from January's 4.4%.
Local Impact | Volusia & Flagler Counties
The state is seeing a drop in unemployment, and the same can be said for Volusia & Flagler Counties, even after jobless rates crept up at the beginning of the year.
February of 2019 showed an unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) of 3.8%, which is 0.4% higher than that state's current rate, but 0.4% lower than January's numbers.
That month also came in 0.3% lower than the same month from the year prior (February 2018).
In total, The Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area had 3,400 more workers employed than the same month last year, with 207,300, a 1.7% increase over 203,900.
Similar to last month's numbers, mining, logging and construction jobs saw the highest increase in employment with an 11.3% increase.
The biggest decrease seen in the numbers came from professional and business service jobs, which saw just a 0.9% decrease.
Education and health service jobs again topped the list for the most employed, with 40,100 in February of 2019. That field saw a 1% increase over the same month last year.
