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S. Fla Sheds More Than 13k Jobs In May

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) - The Florida unemployment continued to decline in May, dropping to a seasonally adjusted 8.6 percent. It's the lowest the unemployment rate has been in the Sunshine State since December 2008.

Overall, Florida's decline in unemployment has mirrored the U.S. unemployment rate, though the U.S. rate ticked up last month. The same can't be said for South Florida.

Looking at the local numbers (.pdf), Broward County's May unemployment rate rose 0.1 percent from April to settle at 7.3 percent. The numbers translate to more than 72,000 people out of work in the county, or roughly 2,022 more than in April.

Miami-Dade County's unemployment rate spiked in May.

The state reported Miami-Dade's unemployment rate rose by nearly a full point to 9.8 percent in May. In April, Miami-Dade's unemployment rate stood at 9.0 percent. The rise meant that an additional 11,623 workers were laid off in the county.

Still, in a year-over-year comparison, Miami-Dade County's unemployment rate had dropped from 12.3 percent in May 2011 to May 2012's 9.8 percent.

Monroe County continued to pace the state with an unemployment rate of 4.9 percent. The rate rose 0.1 percent from May, but was still the best unemployment rate in the state.

Overall, South Florida shed 13,373 jobs in May.

Only eight out of Florida's 67 counties continued to have unemployment rates above 10 percent.

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