TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Gov. Rick Scott announced that job demand in Florida increased by 2.8 percent over-the-year in December by adding 7,342 job openings.
Florida’s job demand outpaced the nation’s demand, which increased by only 0.3 percent over-the-year in December, a news release from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity said Wednesday.
There were 265,244 job openings across Florida in December, according to Help Wanted OnLine. In December, Florida also had the fourth-highest over-the-year increase in job openings out of the 10 most populous states.
"Florida businesses are hiring here because we have worked every day for the past seven years to cut taxes and reduce regulations to make it easier for job creators to invest in creating new opportunities," Scott said.
In December, more than 68,000 advertised positions were in STEM-related fields. The top occupation in demand continued to be registered nurses, with nearly 14,000 openings across the state.
The job demand over-the-year growth rate was highest in the following cities: Hollywood, Tallahassee, Gainesville and Melbourne.
Hollywood had the highest percentage gain in online job demand over-the-year, with job ads climbing 29.2 percent since December 2016. Over the last year, Florida businesses also created more jobs than any other state in the trade, transportation and utilities industry, with 33,600 new jobs.
MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL First Alert Weather app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for additional local news and hourly updates.
