TALLAHASSEE - Governor Rick Scott announced today that Florida’s private-sector job growth rate of 3.8 percent in July was the highest among the ten most populous states, including Texas and California. This is the fifth month in a row Florida’s growth rate has been first among large states. Among all states, Florida ranked third in the nation. This is the fourth consecutive month that Florida has created more private-sector jobs over the year than Texas, even though Texas’s population is nearly 27 million.

Governor Scott said, “It is clear that our state is the best place to live the American Dream. I am excited to announce that for the fifth consecutive month, Florida is leading other large states in job growth, and beating our number one competitor, Texas. If we want to stay competitive with Texas and overtake them as the number one state for jobs, it is critical that we fully fund Enterprise Florida so we can attract even more jobs to our state.” 

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Executive Director Jesse Panuccio said, “The economic trends now show Florida as the top job creator among large states. The Scott administration’s pro-growth policies are working.”

Florida’s job growth rate is significantly higher than the nation’s, which is at 2.4 percent. In July, Florida ranked second among the largest states in total private-sector jobs added, with more than 256,000 jobs created over the year. Since December 2010, Florida businesses have created 917,400 private-sector jobs. In July, the unemployment rate dropped to 5.4 percent, approximately half the December 2010 rate and the lowest since March 2008.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity combines the state’s economic, workforce and community development efforts.  This new approach helps expedite economic development projects to fuel job creation in competitive communities.  For more information, including valuable resources for employers and job seekers, please visit www.floridajobs.org.

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