The unemployment rate in the Orlando Metropolitan statistical Area (Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole) ticked up to 11.7 percent in January, a slight increase from 11.5 percent recorded in December, the Agency for Workforce Innovation (AWI) reported on Thursday. The increase in the unemployment rate is, in part, due to the lay off of seasonal workers hired over the Christmas holiday period.
In the Orlando Metro area, there were 130,855 unemployed residents in January 2011 out of a labor force of 1.1 million. In December 2010, close to 2,000 less persons were unemployed.
For Orange County alone, an unemployment rate of 11.6 percent was reported in January 2011, up from the 11.4 percent the previous month. Close to 70,000 persons were without work out of a declining labor force of 602,649, as of January 2011.
In Osceola County, the unemployment rate stood at 12.7 percent in January, up slightly from the 12.6 percent reported in December 2010, and slightly below the 12.8 percent than one year ago. Lake County recorded a jobless rate of 12.5 percent, up from 12.1 percent in December 2010 and below the 12.7 percent reported in January 2010.  Brevard’s unemployment rose to 12.4 percent, from 12.0 percent the month before, and 0.6 percent higher than the 11.0 percent in January 2010, in large part on account of the thousands that have been laid-off from the Kennedy Space Center as the Space Shuttle winds down. The unemployment rate in Seminole County was 10.9 percent, slightly higher than the 10.5 percent the previous month and marginally lower than the 11.0 percent one year ago.
In January 2011, Liberty and Monroe Counties had the lowest unemployment rates, 7.6 percent, followed by Alachua County (8.6 percent); Leon County (8.8 percent) and Okaloosa County at 8.9 percent.
Flager County had the highest unemployment rate at 16.0 percent, slight up from the 15.7 percent in December 2010. This was followed by Hernando County (15.1 percent); Hendry and Marion Counties (14.2 percent) and St. Lucie County (14.1 percent). Miami-Dade County recorded a jobless rate of 12.0 percent in January 2011, down by a significant 1.1 percent from the 13.1 percent in December 2010.
Meanwhile, Florida’s (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate dipped to 11.9 percent in January down slightly from 12.0 percent, where it has remained for the past several months. According to the AWI, there was a growth of 8,400 jobs over January of a year ago, representing the fourth straight month of positive annual job growth.
Notwithstanding the marginal decline in the jobless rate, some 1.1 million Floridians remain unemployed out of a labor force of 9.3 million.
