The unemployment rate in the Orlando metro area in August was 10.3 percent, slightly down from the revised figure of 10.5 percent in July 2011, the Agency for Workforce Innovation (AWI) reported Friday. In the Orlando metro area (Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties) there were 116,369 unemployed residents in August 2011 out of a labor force of 1.1 million. In July 2011, 118,896 persons were unemployed.
For Orange County alone, the unemployment rate ticked down to 10.3 percent in August from 10.5 percent in July the month before. In Orange County, 62,673 persons were unemployed out of a labor force of 606,245. Significantly, there was a sharp decline in the labor force in the County, which was 613,166 people in the month of July.
Of the four counties which are considered part of the Orlando metro area, Seminole County had the lowest jobless rate of 9.6 percent, down by 0.1 percent from 9.7 percent in the month of July and 1.4 percent below the 11.0 percent in August 2010.
Osceola County posted an unemployment of 11.2 percent in August, down by 0.1 percent from 11.3 percent in July 2011. In August 2010, the jobless rate in Osceola County was 12.4 percent.
In Lake County, the jobless rate ticked up slightly to 10.8 percent in August from the 10.7 percent recorded the month before, but well below the 12.2 percent recorded in August 2010.
Statewide, Florida’s unemployment rate in August remained at 10.7 percent, unchanged from July, the month before. Some 987,000 Floridians remain jobless, out of a labor force of 9.2 million.
Although not sufficient to affect the unemployment rate, AWI’s Director, Cynthia R. Lorenzo said that nearly 10,000 jobs were created since last month and it is “another positive indication that Florida’s are gaining confidence and people are getting back to work.”
Nationwide, the U.S. unemployment rate in August is 9.1 percent, well below the jobless rate in Florida.
