Florida’s Unemployment Rate Hits 11 Percent
October 16, 2009 by Stephen Kersey
Filed under Business
Florida’s unemployment rate hit 11 percent in September, sending the number of jobless residents of the state to a staggering 1 million for the first time in the state’s history. The state’s unemployment figures marks a 0.2 percent increase from August and are 1.2 percent higher than the national average of 9.8 percent.
Image: sxc.hu
October 1975 was the last time that Florida’s jobless rate topped 11 percent. According to the Director of the Agency for Workforce Innovation, Cynthia Lorenzo, the economic recovery is coming slowly. Lorenzo also pointed to the fact that there have been less closings and large-scale layoffs as a sign that economic stability is on its way.
The report containing the jobless statistics was released a day after a report showing that the $334.6 million in federal contracts that the government infused into Florida created or saved 1,635. However, many of the projects created have yet to be started, meaning that there are more jobs that will soon be created.
