PENSACOLA, Fla. — Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that Florida businesses have created more than 1.5 million jobs since December 2010. The Pensacola area added 2,800 new private-sector jobs in the past year. The area’s unemployment rate was 3.7 percent, down 0.4 percentage points from a year ago. Statewide, Florida businesses created 12,500 new jobs in March.

Governor Scott said, “The Pensacola area’s creation of nearly 3,000 new jobs over the last year demonstrates that Florida is the best state in the nation to live the American Dream. Businesses across Florida are continuing to grow and succeed, bringing new jobs and opportunities for Florida families.”

The industry with the highest growth over the year in Pensacola was leisure and hospitality with 1,300 new jobs. The Pensacola area had 4,966 job openings, including 1,319 openings for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations.

As of March, Florida’s unemployment rate is at 3.9 percent, a drop of 6.9 percentage points since December 2010; this drop is faster than the national decline of 5.2 percentage points. In the last year, 132,000 people entered Florida’s labor force, a growth of 1.3 percent, which is greater than the national labor force growth rate of 1.0 percent.

To view the March 2018 employment data visit www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.

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