Gov. Scott Touts August Jobs Numbers
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Florida's "jobs" governor touted just that during a stop in Ft. Myers Friday morning.
Gov. Rick Scott announced that in the month of August, businesses across the state created 22,600 jobs bringing the total number of jobs created in 2016 to 167,100. The governor also pointed out that the state's annual job growth rate of 3.4 percent exceeded the nation's rate of 1.9 percent.
"This week we also announced that two businesses, Hotwire Communications and Intellitech, chose to relocate their headquarters from other states to Florida and create hundreds of new jobs," said Scott in a statement. "It's clear that our low tax, business friendly environment continues to send a strong message across the country that Florida is the best location for businesses to grow."
The Orlando area continues to lead the state in job creation, adding 48,300 new private-sector jobs over the year in August.
Tampa came in second with 39,500 new jobs over the last through August.
Ft. Lauderdale rounded out the top three with 33,700 new jobs during the same time period. the largest job gains over the year in the Fort Lauderdale area were trade, transportation, and utilities. The unemployment rate in city was 4.6 percent in August, down about half a percentage point in the last year.
The governor's office said the Miami area added 12,200 new jobs over the year in August. Miami's unemployment rate was 5.6 percent in August, down 0.8 percentage point in the last year. The industries with the largest job gains over the year in Miami were construction with 4,600 new jobs and financial activities with 3,400 new jobs.
Florida's statewide unemployment rate remained low at 4.7 percent, the lowest rate since November 2007.
