Florida Governor Rick Scott got a much needed welcome home present as he arrived in Tallahassee from his trade mission in France. The state’s unemployment rate continues to tumble faster than the national average.
Florida’s unemployment rate for the month of May was 7.1 percent, down one tenth of a point from the previous month. Businesses in the professional services, private education and healthcare industries saw the most gains last month. Jesse Panuccio, Director of Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity, said the numbers were better than expected.
“It’s also worth noting that just a few months ago, in February of this year; the Florida Economic Estimating Conference forecasted that unemployment would be eight percent. So, we are far exceeding expectations from even earlier this year,” Pannuccio pointed out.
Florida has added more than 300,000 private sector jobs since December of 2010. But, unemployment numbers don’t include those who’ve stopped looking for work.