FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that Florida businesses have created more than 1.5 million jobs since December 2010. The Fort Lauderdale area added 11,100 new private-sector jobs in the past year, continuing to be among the top five Florida metro areas for private-sector job growth. Fort Lauderdale’s unemployment rate was a low 3.5 percent in March, down 0.4 percentage points from a year ago. Statewide, Florida businesses created 12,500 new jobs in March.

Governor Scott said, “With the creation of more than 11,000 new private-sector jobs, the Ft. Lauderdale area continues to show that Florida’s pro-business policies and tax cuts are working. Each new job created is an opportunity for a Florida family to live the American dream.”

The industry with the highest growth over the year in Fort Lauderdale was construction with 3,400 new jobs. Fort Lauderdale remains among the top four metro areas in online job demand in Florida with 22,434 openings in March. Also, the area had the fourth-highest number of openings for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations with 5,511 job ads.

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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