TAMPA, Fla. — Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that Florida businesses have created more than 1.5 million jobs since December 2010. The Tampa Bay area added 28,200 new private-sector jobs in the past year, creating the second-highest number of jobs among all metro areas statewide. Tampa’s unemployment rate was a low 3.6 percent, down 0.4 percentage points from a year ago. Statewide, Florida businesses created 12,500 new jobs in March.

Governor Scott said, “Today, we celebrate job creation and rising job demand in the Tampa Bay area. Not only did the Tampa Bay area create more than 28,000 new private-sector jobs, but it also continued to lead the state for job demand. With more and more businesses flocking to Florida, we are continuing to bring jobs to Florida’s talented workforce and create incredible opportunities for families in Tampa and around the state.”

Tampa led the state in job growth over the year in the following industries:

• Financial activities with 6,500 new jobs;
• Education and health services with 5,800 new jobs; and
• Other services with 1,900 new jobs.

The Tampa Bay area remained first among the state metro areas in job demand in March with 43,272 openings. The Tampa Bay area also continues to rank first in the state in demand for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations with 13,514 openings in March.

As of March, Florida’s unemployment rate remains low 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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