TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida's unemployment rate continues to nudge down slightly.
Officials announced Friday that the state's jobless rate in December was 5 percent. This was a small decline of 0.1 percent from the revised rate of 5.1 percent for November. It's the lowest the unemployment rate has been in seven years.
The state added nearly 22,000 jobs last month. But despite that increase there were 487,000 people out of work in December or 1,000 higher than the previous month.
Gov. Rick Scott announced the new numbers while attending the dedication of the new corporate headquarters for Hertz in Estero. Scott has made job creation his main focus.
Monroe County, which is where Key West is located, continues to have the lowest unemployment rate at 3.2 percent. Hendry County had the highest jobless rate at 7.3 percent.
