The U.S. jobless rate dipped to 9.1 percent in July, down 0.1 percent from the previous month, as employers added a total of 117,000 workers to their payroll.
The private sector added 154,000 jobs last month, the 17th straight month in a row, and better than analysts had predicted.
Job losses in the government sector were 37,000 in July, the ninth straight months of decline in government sector employment.
Budget cuts in state and local government have resulted in the loss of 340,000 jobs in the last 12 months.
Florida’s jobless rate for June, the most recent data available, was 10.6 percent.
