TALLAHASSEE, FL (AP) -- Florida's unemployment rate in December increased to 11.8 percent with over 1 million residents looking for jobs.
In South Florida and along the Treasure Coast, there was slight improvement from the month before.
In St. Lucie County unemployment dropped to 14.2% from 14.6% in November. Unemployment is still above 14% in Indian River County, above 13% in Okeechobee County, above 12% in Martin County and above 11% in Palm Beach County.
The December unemployment number was 1.8 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate.
It's also the highest rate in Florida since May of 1975 when 11.9 percent of the state's workforce was idled.
The
Agency for Workforce Innovation released the report Friday. Florida's unemployment figures for December were 4.2 percentage points higher than December 2008.
The most number of jobs lost were in the construction, trade and professional areas. The only growth sector in much of 2009 was in health care.
| December | November |
| BROWARD | 10.0% | 10.2% |
| INDIAN RIVER | 14.1% | 14.6% |
| MARTIN | 12.4% | 12.5% |
| OKEECHOBEE | 13.2% | 13.6% |
| PALM BEACH | 11.5% | 11.7% |
| ST. LUCIE | 14.2% | 14.6% |
