Florida Reports 18 Consecutive Months of Private Sector Job Growth

Florida has experienced 18 consecutive months of private sector job growth, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced on Friday.

According to a news release from the governor’s office, Florida added 44,300 jobs in October. Overall, the job growth rate has increased 5.7 percent in the state this year.

Additionally, Florida has seen “12 consecutive months of labor force increases with a growth of 29,000 over the month,” according to the governor’s office. “Florida’s labor force growth represents a 5.8% increase over the year, which is significantly higher than the national rate of 0.5%. Florida’s unemployment rate, currently at 4.6%, also decreased by 0.2 percentage points from the revised September 2021 rate of 4.8%.”

“In total, Florida has gained 1,111,000 private sector jobs since April 2020, which represents 89% of jobs lost during the pandemic that have been recovered. Florida continues to see significant increases in labor force, growing 579,000 over the year as Floridians gain confidence in returning to work. Florida’s unemployment rate has lowered over the year, decreasing by 1.2 percentage points. Data in the month of October indicates that there continue to be many job opportunities available for Floridians throughout the state, with more than 518,000 jobs posted online,” the release noted.

The Sunshine State’s unemployment rate sits at 4.6 percent. According to the data, industries seeing the most job growth in October include:

• Leisure and Hospitality with 16,600 new jobs
• Trade, Transportation, and Utilities with 10,400 new jobs
• Education and Health Services with 6,600 new jobs
• Other Services with 4,200 new jobs
• Professional and Business Services with 3,700 new jobs

“Florida’s economy continues to grow faster than the nation because we put the needs of Floridians and businesses first and make smart policy decisions that push back against heavy-handed mandates,” DeSantis, who has opposed government mandates throughout the course of the pandemic, said. “With 18 consecutive months of job growth and 12 consecutive months of labor force increases, we will continue to make investments that move our economy forward.”

In October, Florida created another 44,000 private sector jobs and unemployment continued to decline. Our state’s economy is growing faster than the nation because we keep our businesses open and push back against heavy-handed mandates. pic.twitter.com/eQZIutcDtm

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) November 19, 2021

The news comes on the heels of DeSantis signing of legislation on Thursday in Brandon, Florida, designed to protect Floridians from losing their jobs over forced coronavirus shots.