State's Jobless Numbers Hold Steady
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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - Fewer Floridians were working in July than in June, but the state's jobless rate remained unchanged during the first full month of summer.
The unemployment rate stood at 4.7 percent in July, the same as in June, according to the state Department of Economic Opportunity.
The preliminary numbers estimate that 456,000 Floridians qualified as unemployed in July out of a workforce of 9.7 million. The numbers indicate that the workforce shrunk by 20,000 from month to month, while the overall number of people out of work grew by 1,000.
In a news release, Gov. Rick Scott focused on the creation of new jobs by private businesses.
"I am proud to announce today that Florida businesses created more than 26,000 new jobs last month," Scott said.
Since the start of the year, 135,900 private-sector jobs have been created, the release said.
Over the past year, Florida has seen the most job growth in the fields of education and health services, collectively up 48,000 positions. Leisure and hospitality jobs have grown by 41,100 since July 2015, while construction jobs are up 26,400 and government positions have increased by 18,200 in the same time.
The area of the state with the lowest jobless rate remains Monroe County at 3.3 percent. The county's rate was up from 3.1 percent in June. St. Johns County in Northeast Florida was next lowest at 3.8 percent.
The agricultural Hendry County continued to have the state's highest rate at 11.7 percent in July, up from 10 percent a month earlier. The nation's unemployment mark also remained unchanged, at 4.9 percent, from June to July.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
