Released by Governor Ron DeSantis’ Press Office —-
Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Florida’s annual private-sector job growth rate of 2.7 percent continues to outpace the national job growth rate of 2.1 percent. In the past year, 207,300 new private-sector jobs were created in Florida overall and 10,900 private-sector jobs were created in January. Florida’s unemployment rate remains low at 3.4 percent.
“Florida’s economy is strong, but we cannot rest on our laurels,” said Governor DeSantis. “We have to build on our success by keeping taxes low and regulations reasonable, becoming the number one state for career and technical education and making smart investments in our infrastructure and environment. Only then can we ensure every Floridian has the opportunity to achieve economic prosperity.”
This year, Florida’s labor force continued to grow with 161,000 people entering the labor force at an annual growth rate of 1.6 percent, up 0.3 percent from December 2018.
“Governor DeSantis’ bold vision for Florida’s economic future starts with the work our agency is doing today – prioritizing disaster recovery and workforce development,” said Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Ken Lawson. “We will continue to work to build a resilient and diverse healthy economic environment for Florida communities all across the state.”
Other positive economic indicators include:
• Private-sector industries gaining the most jobs over-the-year were:
o Professional and business services with 54,000 new jobs;
o Education and health services with 35,900 new jobs;
o Trade, transportation and utilities with 29,400 new jobs;
o Construction with 26,600 new jobs;
o Leisure and hospitality with 25,600 new jobs; and
o Financial activities with 16,700 new jobs.
• Florida job postings showed 273,740 openings in January 2019.
• Consumer Sentiment Index is 97.8 in January 2019.
To view the January 2019 jobs reports by region, please see below:
Fort Lauderdale
Jacksonville
Miami
Orlando
Pensacola
Southwest Florida
Tampa
West Palm Beach
To view the January 2019 employment data visit www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.