Gov. Scott: West Palm Beach Area Added More Than 8,000 New Jobs Over the Year

Press Release

Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that the West Palm Beach area added 8,400 new private-sector jobs over the year in October. The area's unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in October. Florida businesses created 8,900 private-sector jobs across the state during October 2016, bringing the total number of jobs created since December 2010 to 1,232,400 jobs.

Governor Scott said, "I am proud to announce that West Palm Beach businesses created more than 8,000 jobs in the past year. Our efforts to cut taxes 55 times since 2010 has saved $5.5 billion for Floridians and businesses, and we will keep working to make Florida the first choice for families and job creators from across the country."

The industries with the most job growth over the year in the West Palm Beach area were professional and business services with 5,100 new jobs and leisure and hospitality with 1,900 new jobs. In October, the West Palm Beach area had 17,883 job openings, including 5,064 high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations.

The state's unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in October, as a result of the rapidly growing labor force which nearly doubled over the month. For the 55th consecutive month, Florida's annual job growth rate of 3.3 percent is exceeding the nation's rate of 1.8 percent. Nearly 38,000 Floridians were placed in jobs by CareerSource Palm Beach County and the state's other 23 regional workforce boards.

To view the October 2016 employment data visit www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.

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