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Unemployment Rate Creeps Upward While State Adds 50k Jobs

Department of Economic Opportunity Chief Cissy Proctor
State of Florida

Florida experienced a big upswing in January employment after a sluggish December. 

But even though the state added more than 50,000 jobs, Department of Economic Opportunity director Cissy Proctor explains the unemployment rate ticked up one tenth of a percent.

“But the good thing is, is that those folks that are looking for work are finding work, and so that’s why our unemployment rate has been so steady,” Proctor says, “is, as the labor force grows, those people are finding the jobs they’re looking for and more people are continuing to enter the labor force because they have confidence that they’re going to find a job.”

The January unemployment rate of five percent is unchanged from the previous year, but the state spent 10 months at 4.9 percent before the creeping back upward.

Nick Evans came to Tallahassee to pursue a masters in communications at Florida State University. He graduated in 2014, but not before picking up an internship at WFSU. While he worked on his degree Nick moved from intern, to part-timer, to full-time reporter. Before moving to Tallahassee, Nick lived in and around the San Francisco Bay Area for 15 years. He listens to far too many podcasts and is a die-hard 49ers football fan. When Nick’s not at work he likes to cook, play music and read.