NAPLES, Fla. — Governor Rick Scott announced that unemployment rates in Southwest Florida areas have dropped in the past year. The Naples area’s unemployment rate was a low 4.1 percent, 0.4 percentage point less than it was a year ago. Fort Myers’ unemployment rate was 3.8 percent, down 0.4 percentage point in the past year. Additionally, the Fort Myers area had an increase of 3,900 new private-sector jobs in the past year.
Statewide, Florida businesses created 26,300 new jobs in July bringing the total number of new private-sector jobs created in Florida to nearly 1.6 million since December 2010. To see the statewide job creation information, click here.
The industry with the highest job growth in Naples over the year was construction with 1,200 new jobs. In July, the Naples area had 3,158 online job openings, including 533 for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations.
The industry with the largest job gains in Fort Myers over the year was professional and business services with 2,000 new jobs. In July, the Fort Myers area had 6,780 online job openings, including 1,190 high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations.
As of July, Florida’s unemployment rate dropped to a low of 3.7 percent, the lowest since April 2007 and a drop of 7.1 percentage points since December 2010. This drop in unemployment is faster than the national decline of 5.4 percentage points. In the past year, 132,000 people entered Florida’s labor force, a growth of 1.3 percent, which is greater than the national labor force growth rate of 1.1 percent.
To view the July 2018 employment data visit www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.