DeSantis announces Florida has seen 45 consecutive months of job growth · The Floridian

Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and the State of Florida celebrate the 45th^th Consecutive month of job growth and unemployment below the national average. In July, the national unemployment rate was 3.3%, one percentage point below the national average (4.3%). The Sunshine State's private sector growth rate reached +2.3% for the year, compared to a national rate of 1.5%.

Governor DeSantis, who served as governor for the entire 45-month term, said that with “better leadership,” the United States could follow in Florida’s footsteps.

“Florida is proving that the economy can do better with better leadership,” said Governor DeSantis. “If Washington would change course and follow Florida's lead, families and small businesses across America would be better off.”

In addition, the leisure and hospitality sector and the construction sector saw the strongest growth in terms of jobs in the seventh month of 2024. Leisure and hospitality added 11,200 jobs, while construction added 6,300 jobs. Florida added 35,000 new workers year-over-year since July 2023.

Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly said Florida is the “number one ecosystem” for job creation in the world.

“The federal government's indecisive and fiscally irresponsible policies – including the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates high – continue to create chaos,” said Secretary Kelly. “Florida is the world's leading job creation ecosystem and continues to inspire confidence in employers and job seekers with smart fiscal policy and economic stability, and it is attracting record numbers of visitors to our state.”

Counties with the lowest unemployment rates include Monroe (2.4%), Miami-Dade (3.1%), and Gulf (3.3%). Counties with the highest rates include Hendry (6.6%), Citrus (5.9%), and Sumter (5.7%).

All 24 of the Sunshine State's metropolitan areas experienced year-over-year private sector growth, as nine out of 10 major industries reported positive year-over-year job growth in July.

Industries that added jobs during the year included trade, transportation and utilities (+55,100 jobs, +2.8 percent); education and health care (+39,600 jobs, +2.7 percent); construction (+36,700 jobs, +5.8 percent); leisure and hospitality (+34,500 jobs, +2.7 percent); total public sector (+28,000 jobs, +2.5 percent); other services (+16,000 jobs, +4.4 percent); professional and business services (+14,400 jobs, +0.9 percent); manufacturing (+4,600 jobs, +1.1 percent); and financial services (+1,200 jobs, +0.2 percent). The only industry that lost jobs during the year was the information industry (-900 jobs, -0.6 percent).

An impressive step forward for the conservative governor and the state of Florida.