Florida 'Freedom First' Workforce Sees Record Low Unemployment of 2.7%

Florida has held bragging rights of being the state that has the best economic numbers, particularly of having a low unemployment rate.  Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has announced the unemployment rate in Florida has now hit a historic low of 2.7%.

The July employment numbers have shown the lowest unemployment rate since February of 2020.  This level has only been reached three times since Florida began recording unemployment data in 1976.

Florida's private sector led the way by adding 70,000 jobs to the workforce, doubling the nation’s job growth rate over the same period. Before July 2022, Florida reached this level of over-the-month job creation only 6 other times since data began to be collected in 1990.

While the national labor force shrank for the second consecutive month, Florida's managed to grow.

“Florida continues to outperform the nation because Freedom First policies work,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “July’s job numbers represent one of the largest month’s job gains over the past generation and Florida continues to outpace the nation in labor force growth.”

The national unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for July 2022, 0.8 percentage point higher than Florida’s rate.  The increasing trend in Florida beating the national numbers has bolstered Republicans' rhetoric on DeSantis being a more viable leader for the American public than President Joe Biden (D).

Currently there are more than 545,000 jobs posted online for Floridians to seek out.  Floridians in search of work and new job opportunities are encouraged to turn to the CareerSource Florida network for help. Floridians can find guidance on how to register with Employ Florida and search listings of available local job openings.