Florida’s economy gained 84,500 jobs in the month of September, including nearly 73,000 private sector jobs.
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September marked 17 months of private sector job growth, increasing by 5.6% year over year. Florida has only experienced this magnitude of monthly private sector job growth on four occasions in the past 30 years.
“Business is booming in Florida, and today I was proud to highlight the continued growth of Florida’s economy alongside three Florida based businesses,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.
“Florida has reached a level of job growth only seen on four occasions in the past 30 years, despite concerning federal actions causing economic uncertainty. We are outpacing the nation because Florida is investing in real infrastructure, investing in workforce development, and standing up for businesses. We will continue to work hard to keep Florida open, free, and built for opportunity.”
“We’re seeing a lot of transportation growth, job growth, and we’ve got to continue to invest in that,” said Kevin Thibault, Secretary, Florida Department of Transportation.
“Right here in Port Manatee, we invested in new cargo cranes, warehouse improvements, and we have made improvements to roadways to get goods back to market. We also have some significant improvements on the highway end, we have a river road expansion and one of our biggest projects, improvements at I 75 to help increase that capacity and that throughput in the Tampa Bay area.
"I know many in the Manatee and Tampa Bay area are very familiar and excited for the improvements we are making, and thank Governor DeSantis for all that he is doing here in the State of Florida.”
“The job numbers are truly remarkable, and it is wonderful to see the hospitality sector leading that growth with a 24% increase,” said Dana Young, President and CEO, Visit Florida. “This would not be possible without leadership from Governor DeSantis, business leaders, and those all over our state who kept their businesses going, gave their employees a place to work, let them put food on their tables, feed their families.
"Governor, by keeping Florida open while so many other states were closed our well timed marketing during the pandemic allowed Florida to reach the top of the list of desired destinations for American travelers, and we’re beating them by a lot. We are beating out New York, Las Vegas, Hawaii, California, and we are unapologetic in our excitement to continue to bring the message of Florida to visitors.”
The Florida economy thrived in September, growing at three times the rate over the month compared to the nation. The Leisure and Hospitality sector gained the most jobs with 26,600 new jobs added.
Florida’s labor force added 50,000 workers over the month. In the last year, Florida’s labor force has increased by 540,000, representing a 5.4% increase, which is significantly higher than the national rate of 0.8%. Florida’s unemployment rate also dropped to 4.9%, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from August 2021.
The Governor has announced multiple grants and initiatives for businesses and employees in communities across Florida in support of job growth, workforce training initiatives, and infrastructure investments in small and rural communities.
These areas include Brevard County, Pinellas County, Okaloosa County, Collier County, Polk County, Sumter County, Hernando County, and the City of North Port. ■