Fla. Gov. Rick Scott on unemployment drop: ‘It’s working’

Florida’s unemployment rate has dropped to 7.2 percent, Gov. Rick Scott announced Friday.

That’s the lowest point for the jobless rate since September 2008, Scott said. That was when the financial crisis swept the country, and upended the Obama-McCain presidential race, and started the recession.

rickscottunemploymentWith 16,700 private-sector jobs added to the state’s economy, the Sunshine State’s unemployment rate has continued its downward trend. In December 2010, Florida’s unemployment rate was 11.1 percent.

April was the second month in a row the state’s unemployment rate was lower than the nation’s. It was 7.5 percent in March, a point lower than the nationwide rate of 7.6 percent.

Nationally, the unemployment rate for April was 7.5 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Florida’s families are getting back to work and our state’s economy is growing,” Scott said in a release. “Florida is once again below the national average at 7.2 percent.”

In December 2010, a month before Scott took office, Florida’s unemployment rate was 11.1 percent.

Since then, according to the release, 330,000 private-sector jobs created in Florida.

The state’s unemployment rate has also declined year-over-year for 30 consecutive months and unemployment claims are down 10.1 percent from a year ago, the release states.

Meanwhile, according to the release, the housing market recovery continues.

The backlog of existing homes on the market was down by 33 percent from March 2012. And housing starts in starts were up over the year in March 2013 by 41.1 percent, according to the release.

Median home prices were up 15.9 percent in March 2013 over the year, according to the release.

The state’s population is growing as people move in from other states, according to the release. Florida also led the country in migrations from Puerto Rico, the release states.

The April monthly employment report is available here.

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