TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida is leading the nation in job growth.
New figures released Friday show the state added 29,600 jobs in May. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that's the highest raw total in the country.
The state's unemployment rate dropped to 4.3 percent in May, a slight decline from April's rate of 4.5 percent. Florida's unemployment rate is now even with the national rate.
Florida is also among the leaders in overall job growth for the past year. The state's jobs have grown by 2.7 percent, which matches Nevada. Utah's overall jobs have grown by 3.3 percent.
Texas and California have added more total jobs than Florida in the past 12 months.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott highlighted the job numbers during a visit to an Orlando- based packaging company.