Florida’s job growth outpaced the national metric six-fold in November, gaining 51,000 new jobs while the nation as a whole accrued 210,000, according to a recent economic analysis.
The state’s labor force increased by 6.1% over 2021 compared to the national labor force increase of 0.9% over the same time frame. Florida added 470,000 private sector jobs over the year, increasing by 6.4 percent and exceeding the national private sector job growth by 2.0 percentage points.
“Our job growth rate is six times faster than the rest of the nation because we’ve worked hard to keep Florida open and protect the jobs of individual Floridians,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Because we have protected their livelihoods, Floridians are confident in finding work and operating their own businesses. We will continue to focus on our state’s foundation of freedom to ensure that Florida remains a leader in economic growth and Floridians are able to succeed.”
For the fifth consecutive year, Florida ranked 4th among all 50 states in the 2022 State Business Tax Climate Index that is published by the Tax Foundation, and ranks highest in all high population states, outpacing states like New York (48th) and California (49th).
Florida lost over 1,200,000 jobs from February to April 2020 due the COVID-19 pandemic and has since gained back 91.2 percent of lost jobs, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
Private-sector industries that gained the most jobs include leisure and hospitality (13.5 percent growth), professional and business services (6.7 percent growth), trade and transportation (4.9 percent growth), and education and health services (4 percent growth).
In November, Monroe County held the state’s lowest local unemployment clip at 2.2 percent, while Putnam County had the highest at 5.4 percent.
“Governor DeSantis continues to make strong investments and create policies that drive confidence in Floridians and businesses,” said Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Secretary Dane Eagle. “Ensuring the economic success and prosperity of our state and residents is our number one priority, and we stand with Governor DeSantis as he continues empowering Florida businesses and Floridians to create and find meaningful employment.”
Florida’s urban centers experienced considerable growth in over-the-year job gains, with the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford area experiencing a 7.7 percent growth, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater showing 5.3 percent improvement, and Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall rising 6.2 percent.