Governor Rick Scott announced today that Jacksonville area businesses added 19,000 new private-sector jobs over the year in April. Jacksonville’s unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in April, down 0.6 percentage point from one year ago. Statewide, Florida businesses created 15,000 new jobs in April and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.5 percent, the lowest since November 2007. Since December 2010, Florida businesses have created 1,355,700 new private-sector jobs.
Governor Scott said, “Jacksonville area businesses created 19,000 jobs over the year in April, which means thousands more Floridians have opportunities to get great jobs and provide for their families.”
The industries with the most job growth in the Jacksonville area over the year were trade, transportation, and utilities with 4,700 jobs and education and health services with 4,600 jobs. The Jacksonville area rounded out the top five metro areas in job demand, with 19,662 openings, including 5,210 openings for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations.
For 61 consecutive months, Florida’s annual job growth rate of 2.9 percent is exceeding the nation’s rate of 1.7 percent. More than 19,033 Floridians were placed in jobs by CareerSource Northeast Florida and the state’s other 23 regional workforce boards.
To view the April 2017 employment data visit
www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.