Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that Florida businesses created 50,700 private-sector jobs in January, bringing the total number of new jobs added since December 2010 to 1,343,100. Governor Scott made the announcement at Herc Rentals Inc.
Governor Scott said, “I am proud to announce that Florida’s private-sector businesses created nearly 51,000 new jobs in January. In the last six years, our state has added more than 1.34 million new jobs with help from our economic development organizations like Enterprise Florida that fight for new investment all across our state. Today’s announcement of Herc Rentals adding more than 120 new jobs would not have been possible without the hard work and collaboration of EFI. Unfortunately, politicians in the Florida House last week voted to kill our jobs program– threating great jobs wins like Herc’s expansion in Bonita Springs. We will continue to fight for jobs and ensure Florida remains competitive for major jobs wins that provide opportunities for Florida families.”
For the 58th consecutive month, Florida’s annual job growth rate of 3.6 percent is exceeding the nation’s rate of 1.8 percent. In the last year alone, 260,600 new jobs were created by businesses across the state. Florida’s unemployment rate remained low at five percent in January. Governor Rick Scott announced today that Miami businesses added 29,100 new private-sector jobs over the year in January. Miami’s unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in January, down 0.2 percentage point in the last year.
The Fort Lauderdale area added 20,300 new private-sector jobs over the year in January. The unemployment rate in Fort Lauderdale was 5.0 percent in January.
West Palm Beach area businesses added 16,500 new private-sector jobs over the year in January. The area’s unemployment rate was 5.2 percent in January.