On July 17, Governor Rick Scott announced that Florida’s unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent—the lowest rate since March 2008. In June 2015, 12,200 private-sector jobs were created across Florida. Florida’s annual private-sector job growth rate, up to 3.9 percent, has exceeded that of the nation since April 2012.
“Today’s announcement of nearly 900,000 new private sector jobs in just four and a half years is great news,†said Scott. “We have cut taxes 50 times – including $400 million in tax cuts this year – and we will keep working to create an environment where more businesses can expand and grow in Florida so families have more opportunities to succeed in the Sunshine State.â€
Florida’s unemployment rate for June 2015 was 5.5 percent, almost half of the December 2010 rate. Florida’s unemployment rate decreased by 0.6 percentage point over the year from the June 2014 rate of 6.1 percent, down to 5.5 percent in June 2015. The June 2015 unemployment rate is the lowest since March 2008 when it was 5.4 percent. Florida’s unemployment rate has declined by 5.2 percentage points since December 2010.
Escambia County’s unemployment rate for June 2015 was 5.7 percent, down 0.1 percent from the previous month. The county’s unemployment rate decreased by 0.9 percentage points over the year from the June 2014 rate of 6.6 percent.
The county’s labor force shrunk by 2,512 people, dropping from 142,376 in June 2014 to 139,864 in June 2015. The number of people employed also declined by 1,058, from 133,019 a year ago to 131,961 this past month.
As result of the unemployment math, the net effect is the number of unemployed dropped by 1,454 from June 2014 to June 2015.