TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Rick Scott today announced that Florida businesses have created 841,100 private-sector jobs since December 2010. In March 2015, 29,400 private-sector jobs were created across Florida. Florida’s annual private-sector job growth rate, now at 4.2 percent, has exceeded that of the nation since April 2012. Florida’s unemployment rate for March 2015 was 5.7 percent. Governor Scott made the announcement at Kellstrom Defense Aerospace, Inc., a manufacturer of aviation products that is expanding their South Florida operations to create 20 new jobs, in addition to retaining 106 jobs, in Miramar.

Governor Rick Scott said, “We are excited to announce today that since December 2010, 841,100 new private-sector jobs have been created in Florida. Each new job is an opportunity for a Floridian to achieve their dreams, and families have benefitted from more than 40 months of job growth in our state. In March alone, more than 29,000 jobs were created, which is great news for our entire state. During the four years before I became Governor, Florida lost over 820,000 private sector jobs. We have now gained back all of the jobs that were lost, and we will remain focused on doing everything we can to bring even more jobs and opportunities to the families in Florida.”

As of March 2015, Florida has recovered all of the private-sector jobs lost from 2006-2010, and surpassed the previous peak private-sector employment in March 2007. Florida’s unemployment rate decreased by 0.8 percentage point over the year from the March 2014 rate of 6.5 percent, down now to 5.7 percent. In March, Florida’s annual labor force growth of 1.5 percent exceeded the nation’s growth of 0.5. labor force has increased for 61 consecutive months.

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Executive Director Jesse Panuccio said, “March marked a milestone for Florida as we surpassed our all-time high for private-sector jobs in the state. Our economy keeps adding jobs at a steady clip and our economic growth outpaces the nation’s. It’s a great time to be a Floridian.”

More Floridians Getting Back to Work

• Florida’s unemployment rate has declined or held steady for 54 consecutive months.
• Florida’s private-sector job growth month-to-month has been positive for 41 consecutive months. 
• Florida has created 841,100 new private sector jobs since December 2010.
• Florida job postings compiled by the Help Wanted OnLine data series from The Conference Board showed 289,986 openings in March 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 9.1 percent over the year in February 2015.
• Florida building permits were up 14.7 percent over the year in February 2015.

Workforce Boards Assisting in Employment

• In March, Florida’s 24 regional workforce boards reported more than 37,457 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, 6,794 previously received Reemployment Assistance. 
• In 2014, 470,534 individuals were placed into jobs through the regional workforce board, including more than 23,986 veterans.

To view the March 2015 employment data visit www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.

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