TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity announced that the Fort Lauderdale area private-sector employment decreased by 118,300 jobs (-15.7 percent) over the year. The Fort Lauderdale area’s unemployment rate was 14.5 percent in April, up 11.7 percentage points from one year ago.
The industry losing the most jobs over the year was leisure and hospitality (-52,700 jobs).
Statewide, Florida businesses lost 989,600 private-sector jobs over the year. In April 2020, the number of jobs decreased by 1,035,500, down 13.2 percent from March 2020. Florida’s unemployment rate increased to 12.9 percent in April 2020. Florida’s labor force was down 893,000 over the month and down 824,000 over the year.
To view the April 2020 employment data, visit www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.
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