Tallahassee Sun

Florida Executive Office of The Governor issued the following announcement on Dec. 17.

Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Florida’s job growth for November was six times faster than the nation as Florida gained 51,100 jobs (0.6%) while the nation as a whole gained 210,000 jobs (0.1%) over the month. Florida’s economic data reflects Governor DeSantis’ “Freedom First” approach continues to build a solid economic foundation for Floridians to successfully find employment and for businesses to continue to grow. The state of Florida also experienced tremendous labor force growth, adding 42,000 people into the labor force. The state’s labor force has increased by 6.1% over the year compared to the national labor force increase of 0.9% over the same time period. Florida added 470,000 private sector jobs over the year, increasing by 6.4% and exceeding the national private sector job growth by 2.0 percentage points.

Also supporting Florida’s job growth is a business climate that supports the economy. For the fifth year in a row, Florida is ranked number four in the nation in the 2022 State Business Tax Climate Index published by the Tax Foundation, and is the only large state in the top 5. Florida’s standing contrasts with other large states that consistently remain in the bottom tier: states like California (#48) and New York (#49) are consistently at the bottom of the State Business Tax Climate Index in the nation. Florida maintains a competitively low top corporate tax rate and has no personal income tax.

“Our job growth rate is six times faster than the rest of the nation because we’ve worked hard to keep Florida open and protect the jobs of individual Floridians,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Because we have protected their livelihoods, Floridians are confident in finding work and operating their own businesses. We will continue to focus on our state’s foundation of freedom to ensure that Florida remains a leader in economic growth and Floridians are able to succeed.”

Florida continues to see significant increases in labor force, growing by 607,000 over the year, as more Floridians continue to be confident seeking opportunities in the state’s job market that, in turn, results in meaningful employment.

“Governor DeSantis continues to make strong investments and create policies that drive confidence in Floridians and businesses,” said Secretary Dane Eagle of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. “Ensuring the economic success and prosperity of our state and residents is our number one priority, and we stand with Governor DeSantis as he continues empowering Florida businesses and Floridians to create and find meaningful employment.”

Data in the month of November indicates that there continue to be many job opportunities available for Floridians throughout the state, with more than 513,000 jobs posted online. Floridians in search of work and new job opportunities are encouraged to turn to the CareerSource Florida network for help. Floridians can find guidance to register with Employ Florida and search listings of available local job openings. Career seekers also can improve their employability by taking advantage of resources for perfecting resume writing, interviewing skills, establishing career goals, and pursuing customized career training. These services are provided at no cost to job seekers.

Florida Economic Indicators for November 2021 include:

• Unemployment rate is 4.5%, down 0.1 percentage point over the month.
• Labor force was up 42,000 over the month, bringing the November 2021 total up to 10,632,000.
• Florida’s labor force growth represents a 6.1% increase over the year compared to 0.9% nationally.
• Florida businesses gained 46,700 private-sector jobs over the month.
• Florida’s private-sector employment increased by 470,000, or 6.4%, over the year, higher than the national rate of 4.4%.
• Florida’s over the month private-sector job growth rate was 0.6%, higher than the national rate of 0.2%.
• Private-sector industries gaining the most jobs over the month were:
  • Professional and Business Services with 13,400 new jobs
  • Leisure and Hospitality with 11,600 new jobs
  • Construction with 8,200 new jobs
  • Education and Health Services with 6,000 new jobs
  • Manufacturing with 3,600 new jobs

Original source can be found here.