Gov. Scott: West Palm Beach Adds Over 20,000 Jobs Over the Year

Press Release

Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that the West Palm Beach metro area experienced positive annual job growth, with an increase 20,600 jobs over the year in March 2015. The metro area's unemployment rate declined by 1.3 percentage points over the year, from 6.3 percent in March 2014 to 5.0 percent in March 2015. Florida businesses have added more than 841,000 private-sector jobs since December 2010.

Governor Scott said, "With more than 20,000 jobs over the year in West Palm Beach, it is clear that Florida's economic success is continuing across our great state. We are creating an environment where businesses can grow and create more jobs for our families, which is why Florida has added more than 841,000 new jobs in four years."

The industries with the largest job gains over the year were professional and business services with 7,700 new jobs, education and health services with 2,500 new jobs, and trade, transportation, and utilities with 2,300 new jobs. All ten major industry sectors gained jobs over the year. In March 2015, the West Palm Beach metro area had 21,977 online job openings. The metro area had 5,804 for high wage, high skill science technology engineering math (STEM) openings.

Florida created 29,400 private-sector jobs in March 2015, and a total of 841,100 private-sector jobs since December 2010. Florida's statewide unemployment rate for March 2015 was 5.7 percent. In March, more than 37,400 Floridians were placed in jobs by CareerSource Central Florida, along with the state's other 23 Regional Workforce Boards.

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