The Orlando metro (Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole) area unemployment rate declined marginally to 9.7 percent in November, 0.1 percent down from the 9.8 percent recorded in October, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity announced Friday. Â One year ago, the Orlando area jobless rate was 11.9 percent.
Seminole County recorded the lowest unemployment rate in the Orlando metro area, posting 8.9 percent in November and down by 0.1 percent from the previous month.
The jobless rate is highest in Osceola at 10.8 percent in November and out of a labor force of 140,704, over 15,000 persons remain unemployed.
In Lake County, the unemployment rate in November was 10.2 percent, unchanged from the previous before. Out of a labor force of 136,860, nearly 14,000 persons are unemployed.
Statewide, Florida’s unemployment rate declined to 10 percent in November, 0.4 percent down from the 10.4 percent recorded in October and the lowest jobless rate since May 2009, when it was also 10 percent.
In November, 8,500 jobs were added from October 2011, and the state’s over-the-year growth rates in the past three months were the strongest since March 2007. Out of a labor force of 9.2 million, 926,000 persons remained unemployed in November.
Nationwide, the jobless rate fell to 8.6 percent in November, a decline of 0.4 percent from the previous month. Still some 14 million Americans who want a job are unable to find one.
