Florida leads the nation in job growth, according to new federal jobless reports, with Orlando leading the state in job creation.
Florida's unemployment rate dropped slightly to 5 percent in January, according to state officials. That's higher than the national jobless rate of 4.9 percent.
But the state did add 32,200 jobs that month. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that this was the highest number of jobs added by any state in January. Texas was second with 31,400 jobs added.
Monroe County, which is where Key West is located, continues to have the lowest unemployment rate at 3.3 percent. Hendry County had the highest jobless rate at 8.4 percent.
Gov. Rick Scott announced the new jobless numbers during a stop in Orlando at Orion Technologies. Scott has made job creation the central focus of his administration.
A new report shows the Orlando area added 53,900 new private-sector jobs over the year in January, the highest number of new jobs among all Florida metro areas. The Orlando area’s unemployment rate declined by 1.0 percent over the year to 4.7 percent in January.
“Orlando is leading the state in job creation with more than 53,000 new jobs created for families over the year. More than one million jobs have been created in Florida in only five years, and we have cut more than $1 billion in taxes over the past two years. It is exciting to celebrate these milestones with families across the state on the ‘Million, Billion Jobs Victory Tour’ today, and we will keep working to cut taxes for families and businesses so Florida can become first for jobs," Scott said.
Unemployment county-by-county
Below is a list of state unemployment rates, along with market unemployment rates. For a more thorough breakdown, check out this table, or head to the Florida Dept. of Economic Opportunity website.