Governor Rick Scott announced today that the Jacksonville area added 25,200 new private-sector jobs over the year in February. The area’s unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in February, down 0.1 percentage point from one year ago. In the last year, Florida businesses created 239,800 new jobs, bringing the total number of new jobs added since December 2010 to 1,346,200.
Governor Scott said, “More than 25,000 new jobs were created for families in Northeast Florida over the last year, which is great news. Today’s announcement helps send a message across the country that Florida is the best place for businesses to grow and create new opportunities.”
The industries with the largest jobs gains in the Jacksonville area over the year were professional and business services with 5,200 new jobs and education and health services with 5,000 new jobs. The Jacksonville area remained among the top five metro areas in job demand, with 18,729 openings, while ranking fourth in the state for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations with 5,297 job openings.
Statewide, Florida businesses created 53,800 new private-sector jobs so far in 2017 and the unemployment rate was 5 percent. For the 59th consecutive month, Florida’s annual job growth rate of 3.3 percent is also exceeding the nation’s rate of 1.8 percent. More than 29,500 Floridians were placed in jobs by CareerSource Northeast Florida and the state’s other 23 regional workforce boards.
To view the February 2017 employment data visit
www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.