Gov. Scott: Orlando Area Continues to Lead the State in Job Creation

Press Release

Governor Rick Scott announced today that the Orlando area continues to lead the state in job creation, adding 48,300 new private-sector jobs over the year in August. The unemployment rate in Orlando was 4.4 percent, dropping by 0.7 percentage point in the last year. Florida businesses created 22,600 private-sector jobs across the state during August 2016, bringing the total number of jobs created since December 2010 to 1,191,900 jobs.

Governor Scott said, "I am proud to announce the Orlando area continues to lead the state in job creation, adding more than 48,000 new jobs over the past year. Creating jobs for our families is our number one priority and over the last five years, we've helped more than one million Floridians find opportunities to succeed in our state."

The industries with the largest job gains over the year in the Orlando area were leisure and hospitality with 13,600 new jobs; construction with 10,200 new jobs; and education and health services with 8,400 new jobs. In August, the Orlando area continued to boast the second-highest job demand of all the metro areas in Florida with 35,157 job openings. The area also had the second-highest demand for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations with 9,853 openings.

Florida's statewide unemployment rate remained low at 4.7 percent, the lowest rate since November 2007. For the 53rd consecutive month, Florida's annual job growth rate of 3.4 percent is also exceeding the nation's rate of 1.9 percent. More than 33,058 Floridians were placed in jobs by CareerSource Central Florida and the state's other 24 regional workforce boards.

Source