TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida's unemployment rate is remaining the same for the third straight month.
State officials on Friday announced that the state's jobless rate was 4.7 percent in July. That's the same rate as it was in May and June, although it's lower than the national jobless rate of 4.9 percent.
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Florida added 28,100 jobs in July. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics listed only two other states -- New York with 37,500 and California with 36,400 -- that added more jobs.'
In a statement, Gov. Rick Scott noted the addition of 12,100 private-sector jobs.
Monroe County, home to Key West, had the state's lowest unemployment rate at 3.1 percent. Hendry County had the highest at 11.7 percent.
West Palm Beach-Area Job Numbers
Scott said Friday the West Palm Beach area added 17,000 new private-sector jobs since July 2015. The area’s unemployment rate was 5.2 percent in July, declining by 0.4 percentage point in the last year.
“With 17,000 new jobs added this year, it is clear that West Palm Beach’s businesses are creating new opportunities for families. By cutting taxes 55 times, including more than $1 billion in taxes cut over the last two years, we are making sure every Floridian has the opportunity to succeed,” said Scott.
According to a new release from the governor's office, the industries with the largest job gains in the last year in the West Palm Beach area were professional and business services with 4,500 new jobs; leisure and hospitality with 4,000 new jobs; and education and health services with 3,600 new jobs.
Scott said the West Palm Beach area had 17,145 job openings in July, including 5,188 high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations.
