TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that Florida’s private-sector job growth rate of 3.7 percent in August was the highest among the ten most populous states, including Texas, New York and California. This is the sixth month in a row Florida’s job growth rate has been first among large states. Compared to all states, Florida ranks second in the nation and is also 2.4 percent higher than the national rate.

Governor Rick Scott said, “For the fifth month in a row, we are beating our number one competitor, Texas, in job creation, which is great news. The only way we are going to stay in this top spot is if we work with the Legislature to fully fund Enterprise Florida in the upcoming Legislative session to help bring more jobs and headquarter relocations to Florida.” 

In August, Florida ranked second among the largest states in total private-sector jobs added, with more than 254,000 jobs created over the year. This is the fifth consecutive month that Florida has created more private-sector jobs over the year than Texas, even though Texas’s population is nearly 27 million.

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Executive Director Jesse Panuccio said, “The trend is now clear: Florida is the top job creator among large states. This is happening because of our low tax, pro-growth policies. Our goal is to have the best economy in the nation and we are moving toward that every day.”

Since December 2010, Florida businesses have created 940,600 private-sector jobs. In August, the unemployment rate dropped to 5.3 percent, approximately half the December 2010 rate and the lowest since February 2008. For more information, including valuable resources for employers and job seekers, please visit www.floridajobs.org.

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