NAPLES, Fla. — Governor Rick Scott announced today that unemployment rates in Southwest Florida areas have dropped in the last year. The Naples area’s unemployment rate was a low 3.1 percent, 0.4 percentage point less than it was a year ago. Fort Myers’ unemployment rate was 3.2 percent, down 0.5 percentage point in the past year. Additionally, the Fort Myers area had an increase of 900 new private-sector jobs in the past year. Statewide, Florida businesses created 8,300 new jobs in April bringing the total number of new private-sector jobs created in Florida to more than 1.5 million since December 2010. 

The industry with the highest job growth in Naples over the year was construction with 800 new jobs. In April, the Naples area had 4,176 online job openings, including 662 for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations. 

The industry with the largest job gains in Fort Myers over the year was trade, transportation, and utilities with 1,400 new jobs. In April, the Fort Myers area had 8,241 online job openings, including 1,414 high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations.

As of April, 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 5.4 percentage points. In the last year, 125,000 people entered Florida’s labor force, a growth of 1.2 percent, which is greater than the national labor force growth rate of only 0.8 percent.

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

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