Bradenton-Sarasota jobless rate falls to one of lowest in Florida

The unemployment rate in Bradenton-Sarasota and in Florida as a whole continued to fall in September.

Unemployment in the Bradenton-Sarasota-North Port area fell to 3.3 percent in September from 3.9 percent a year ago — among the lowest jobless rates in the state, according to Florida Department of Economic Opportunity figures released Friday.

Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in September, down 0.2 percent from August 2017, and down 1.1 percent from September 2016, according to the new report.

“I am proud that Florida’s unemployment rate has reached a more than 10-year low of 3.8 percent. However, Hurricane Irma was the largest storm we have seen, which affected our entire state and led to the largest evacuation and power restoration effort,” Gov. Rick Scott said in a press release.

“Obviously, our jobs numbers were affected because of this,” Scott added. “Florida is a resilient state and we are working around the clock to rebuild and recover from this unprecedented storm. Florida’s economy remains strong and more than 1.3 million private-sector jobs have been created across our state since December 2010. We will continue to fight for jobs every day.”

Okaloosa and Saint Johns County had the state’s lowest unemployment rates in September at 2.7 percent each. Hendry County had the highest umployment rate with 8.6 percent.

Manatee County had 169,711 of a total labor force of 175,483 employed during September for a 3.3 percent jobless rate.

Unemployment in the United States was estimated at 4.1 percent in September.

Florida reported having 62,400 more jobs compared to a year ago, bringing the number of people employed to 8,519,100. It was the 86th consecutive month with positive job growth.

Florida sectors showing the most job growth:

• Education and health services with 15,000.
• Trade, transportation and utilities with 13,900.
• Construction with 12,700.
• Financial activities with 11,200.
• Manufacturing with 10,400.

This story was originally published October 20, 2017 at 12:19 PM with the headline "Bradenton-Sarasota jobless rate falls to one of lowest in Florida."