Source: Orlando Business Journal
According to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, the unemployment rate in Central Florida climbed to 10.2% in May, the first time since 1976.
The jobless rate in Osceola, Lake and Volusia counties reached 10.8 percent, the region’s highest level. This was followed by Orange County with 10.2 percent. Seminole County, which had a jobless rate of 9.6 percent rate, was the only county in the region to fall below 10 percent.
Central Florida’s jobless rate almost doubled from the 5.2 percent rate in May 2008. The jobless rate went up by 0.3 percent from April. The region lost some 64,200 jobs year-over-year, the second largest decline in the state among metropolitan area.
Florida’s unemployment rate was also 10.2 percent, the highest level since 1975. This beats back the national rate, which was 9.4 percent in May. There were 417,000 fewer jobs in Florida in May than in the same month last year.
The construction sector was the hardest hit with a drop of 90,800 jobs compared to last year, a 17.4 percent drop. The leisure and hospitality industry, the biggest Central Florida job category, lost 55,100 jobs statewide, a 5.8 percent drop.
Central Florida jobless rate hits 10.2%
