Whoa! Florida’s Jobless Rate is 7.2 Percent

Florida’s jobless continues to fall.  The state announced on Friday that the unemployment rate declined to 7.2 percent in April, the lowest rate since September 2008. 

Some 16,700 private sector jobs were added over the month, making April the thirty-third consecutive month of positive annual job growth.

In Orange County’s MSA (Lake-Orange-Osceola-Seminole), the jobless rate fell to 6.4 percent from 6.7 percent the month before and 8.2 percent one year ago.

Seminole County’s unemployment rate fell to 5.9 percent, the lowest in the metropolitan area, a decrease from 6.2 percent in March and 7.6 percent in April 2012.

Osceola County recorded the highest jobless rate in the metropolitan area at 7.0 percent, falling from 7.2 percent in March and 9.0 percent one year ago.

Lake County registered an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent in April from 7.1 percent the month before and 8.7 percent in April 2012.

Gov. Rick Scott touted the latest jobs numbers as “great news for Florida families,” saying “Florida’s families are getting back to work and our state’s economy is growing.”

In March, the state’s unemployment rate was 7.5 percent.

Nationwide the jobless rate stood at 7.5 percent in April.