ELLENTON, Fla. — Governor Rick Scott today announced that Florida businesses have created 801,100 private sector jobs since December 2010. In January 2015, 14,600 private-sector jobs were created across Florida. Florida’s annual job growth rate has exceeded that of the nation since April 2012, and Florida’s unemployment rate for January 2015 was 5.7 percent. Governor Scott made the announcement in Ellenton at FELD Entertainment, a production company that announced their relocation from Virginia to Florida in 2012. In the last two years, the company has created 93 jobs, and the move will create a total of 235 new jobs and $20 million in capital investment in Manatee County.

Governor Rick Scott said, “We are excited to announce that Florida businesses added more than 800,000 private sector jobs since December 2010. Florida’s exceptional economic turnaround makes it clear that we are enacting policies to help businesses grow and giving families opportunities to achieve their dreams in Florida. We will keep working to cut taxes and make Florida the global destination for jobs. I also look forward to traveling to California next month to tell shippers that Florida is the best place for business and why they should move here.”

Every March, the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases revised historical employment (jobs) and unemployment rates based on a benchmarking process to adjust the data. These benchmark revisions are mandated by BLS and take place this time every year in every state. This process introduces new population inputs from the most recent Census and other revisions to economic data which leads to changes in the original estimates.

The benchmarked 2014 jobs data showed that the state created more private sector jobs than were originally estimated.  More than 275,000 new private sector jobs were added in 2014 alone, nearly 50,000 more than originally estimated. 

Kenneth Feld, Feld Entertainment Chairman and CEO said, “Governor Scott has built an environment in Florida that allows companies to be innovative and succeed, and our business has greatly benefitted from this. Our new facility has allowed us to continue to create high quality live family entertainment while remaining competitive. We call Florida home and are proud that our company has created new jobs for families in Manatee County.”

Jesse Panuccio, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity said, “Over the last four years, Florida’s economic resurgence has resulted in a steadily falling unemployment rate, robust private-sector job growth, a growing labor force, record job demand, and rising consumer sentiment. Today’s report for January 2015 is an indicator that Governor Scott’s economic policies are continuing to promote job growth and help people get back to work.”

More Floridians Getting Back to Work

• Florida’s unemployment rate has declined or held steady for 52 consecutive months.
• Florida’s private-sector job growth month-to-month has been positive for 39 consecutive months. 
• Florida has created 801,100 new private sector jobs since December 2010.
• Florida job postings compiled by the Help Wanted OnLine data series from The Conference Board showed 279,244 openings in January 2015.

Home Sales Robust

• Home sales remain robust as the backlog of existing homes on the market is down by 32.5 percent from December 2011 (Florida Realtors).
• Florida median home prices were up 7.4 percent over the year in January 2015.
• Florida building permits were up 1.6 percent over the year in January 2015.

Workforce Boards Assisting in Employment

• In January, Florida’s 24 regional workforce boards reported more than 35,500 Floridians were placed in jobs. An individual who receives employment and training assistance through a CareerSource Center and finds a job within 180 days is deemed a placement and may be reported by a regional workforce board. Of these individuals, 5,799 previously received Reemployment Assistance. 
• In 2014, 470,534 individuals were placed into jobs through the regional workforce board, including more than 23,986 veterans.

Employment data for February 2015 will be released on March 27, 2015. To view the January 2015 employment data visit www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.

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