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Despite Job Gains, State Unemployment Rate Edged Up In March

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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/AP) — Florida's jobless rate went up slightly in March.

Meantime, 29,400 private sector jobs were added.

Gov. Rick Scott announced the new employment figures Friday while visiting Kellstrom Defense Aerospace, Inc. in Miramar, which is expanding its operations to add 20 jobs.

The figures show the March unemployment rate was 5.7 percent, slightly higher than February's 5.6 percent. But it is a significant decrease from the March 2014 figure of 6.5 percent.

Scott said Florida has recovered all of the private-sector jobs lost during the 2007 recession and surpassed the previous peak private-sector employment in March 2007.

The governor said Florida's annual private-sector job growth rate, now at 4.2 percent, has exceeded that of the nation as a whole since April 2012.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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