NAPLES, Fla. — Governor Rick Scott announced today that the Southwest Florida area saw drops in the unemployment rate. The Naples area’s unemployment rate is down to 3.8 percent, 1.3 percentage points less than it was a year ago. Fort Myers unemployment rate dropped to 3.3 percent, down 1.4 percentage points in the past year. Additionally, the Southwest Florida area added 2,900 new private-sector jobs in the last year. Statewide, Florida businesses created 127,400 new jobs in October and the unemployment rate dropped to 3.6 percent, the lowest rate since February 2007. Since December 2010, Florida businesses have created 1,448,300 new private-sector jobs.
Governor Scott said, “Since December 2010, more than 1.4 million private-sector jobs have been created across the state, and Southwest Florida unemployment rates have continued to drop over the past year. By cutting taxes, reducing regulations and making our state more business-friendly, we are encouraging job creators to continue investing in our state for years to come.”
The industry with the highest job growth in Naples over the year was construction with 1,300 new jobs. In October, the Naples area had 4,045 job openings, including 631 for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations.
The industry with the largest job gains in Fort Myers over the year was trade, transportation and utilities with 800 new jobs. In October, the Fort Myers area had 8,015 job openings, including 1,331 high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations.
In the last year, 216,000 people entered Florida’s labor force, a growth of 2.2 percent. This rate is more than four times the national labor force growth rate of only 0.5 percent. In October, 23,082 Floridians were placed in jobs by CareerSource Southwest Florida and the state’s other 23 local workforce boards.
To view the October 2017 employment data visit www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.