Orlando Metro area unemployment rate in March 2011 was 10.4 percent, a decline of 0.4 percent from the February 2011 rate of 10.8 percent and nearly 1 percentage point lower than the March 2010 rate of 11.3 percent, the Agency for Workforce Innovation (AWI) reported on Friday.
In the Orlando Metro area (Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties), there were 116,644 unemployed resident in March 2011 out of a labor force of 1.1 million. In February 2011, about 4,600 more persons were unemployed.
For Orange County alone, an unemployment rate of 10.3 percent was reported in March 2011, down from the 10.7 the previous month. More than 2,300 persons were out of work our of a labor force of 603,359, as of February 2011.
In Osceola County, the jobless rate stood at 11.3 percent in March, down from the 11.9 percent reported in February 2011, and one percentage point below the 12.3 percent recorded one year ago. Lake County posted an unemployment rate of 10.9 percent, down from 11.5 percent in February and below the 12.0 percent reported in March 2010. Brevard’s unemployment interestingly, dropped to 11.1 percent, from 11.5 percent the month before and 0.3 percent below the 11.4 percent in March 2010. The unemployment rate in Seminole County was 9.7 percent, lower than the 10.0 percent the previous month and 1.0 percent lower than the 10.7 percent one year ago.
Counties with large public sector employees had the lowest unemployment rates in the state. Monroe County had the lowest unemployment rate at 6.6 percent. It was followed by Liberty County with a jobless rate of 6.8 percent, Alachua County (7.4 percent), Okaloosa and Walton Counties (7.5 percent each) and Lafayette and Leon Counties, at 7.6 percent each.
Flagler County had the highest unemployment rate at 14.5 percent. It was followed by Hernando County at 13.3 percent, Hendra County at 13.1 percent, Marion and St. Lucie Counties with 12.5 percent each and Miami-Dade County at 12.3 percent.
Statewide, Florida’s unemployment in March is 11.1, the first over-the-year decline in the jobless rate since November 2006.
“The continued decline in the unemployment rate paired with very positive job growth provides a strong signal that Florida’s economy has turned the corner,” said Agency for Workforce Innovation Director Cynthia R. Lorenzo.
Florida’s jobless rate remains well above the nation’s, which stood at 8.8 percent in March 2011.
