TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced the state’s most recent labor data show’s the unemployment rate was 2.6% and remained lower than the nation for the 27th consecutive month while job growth outperformed the nation for the 22nd consecutive month.
According to DeSantis’ news release, Florida’s private sector employment grew by 5.3 percent (433,100 jobs) over the year in January 2023, 1.7 percent faster than the national rate of 3.6 percent over the same time period. In January 2023, Florida’s private sector employment increased by 29,800 over the month (+0.3 percent).
“Florida is number one in net migration, tourism, and new business formations because we have bucked the elites and forged our own path forward towards success,” DeSantis said. “We will continue to prioritize policies that support Florida families as they continue to face persistent inflation and national economic headwinds.”
“Thanks to Governor DeSantis’ commitment to Florida’s future, Floridians can trust in Florida’s workforce, businesses, and communities for years to come,” said Acting Secretary Meredith Ivey of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. “Florida’s unemployment rate is consistently below the national average and the private sector continues to generate jobs, creating nearly 30,000 jobs over the month in January 2023.”
Florida’s January unemployment rate was 2.6 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from the previous month’s revised rate of 2.7 percent and 0.8 percentage point below the national rate of 3.4 percent. Florida’s revised unemployment rate reflects that more people are participating in the state’s workforce than initially reported. Florida’s labor force grew by 259,000 (2.4 percent) from one year ago, which is more than one percentage point faster than the national rate of 1.3 percent over the same time period.
In January 2023, leisure and hospitality gained the most jobs among all major industries, adding 16,100 jobs (+1.2 percent) over the month, followed by education and health services, adding 4,900 jobs (+0.3 percent), financial activities, adding 4,900 jobs (+0.7 percent), and other services, adding 3,200 jobs (+0.9 percent).
Other Economic Indicators for Florida include:
- Between January 2022 and January 2023, Florida’s labor force grew by 259,000, or 2.4 percent. This was faster than the national labor force growth rate of 1.3 percent over the year.
- Between January 2022 and January 2023, total private sector employment grew by 433,100 jobs (+5.3 percent), faster than the national private sector job growth rate of 3.6 percent over the year.
- As of January 2023, Florida employers have added jobs for 32 consecutive months since May 2020, with the exception of October 2022. Florida’s private sector over-the-year job growth rate has exceeded the nation’s for 22 consecutive months since April 2021.
- Private sector industries gaining the most jobs over the month were:
- Leisure and Hospitality with 16,100 new jobs.
- Education and Health Services with 4,900 new jobs.
- Financial Activities with 4,900 new jobs.
- Other Services with 3,200 new jobs.
