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Florida Jobless Rate Drops Slightly In April

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CBSMiami/AP) — The Sunshine State's jobless rate is dipping slightly.

Florida's unemployment rate dropped to 5.6 percent in April. That's a slight decline from the previous month.

Florida added 24,500 jobs last month according to figures released Friday by the Department of Economic Opportunity.

The state's jobless rate remains higher than the national rate of 5.4 percent. There are approximately 542,000 unemployed Floridians.

Gov. Rick Scott announced the new unemployment rate at a central Florida medical products company. Scott has made job creation the main focus during his time in office.

Monroe County at Florida's southern end has the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 3.6 percent. Citrus and Putnam counties in the north central portion of the state have the highest rates at 7.2 percent.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.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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