The jobless rate in Bradenton-Sarasota is among the most enviable in Florida. Here's why.
The unemployment rate in the Bradenton-Sarasota region fell again in March and remains one of the lowest in the state.
Unemployment in the Bradenton-Sarasota-North Port metropolitan statistical area dropped to 3.4 percent last month, down from 3.5 percent in February and 3.8 percent in March 2017.
According to Florida Department of Economic Opportunity figures released Friday, only Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin (3.0 percent) and Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford (3.3) had lower rates.
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater was slightly higher than Bradenton-Sarasota, at 3.6 percent.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in March, the sixth straight month it came in at that figure. That's down 0.5 percentage points from a year earlier.
Nationally, the unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in March.
Friday's report said the state added a modest 13,800 jobs last month, pushing the total to 173,100 for the past year.
"If you cut taxes, eliminate burdensome regulation and invest in the priorities that matter most to families, like education, job creators respond by growing and creating jobs," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said in a news release.
Added Cissy Proctor, the executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity: "Since December 2010, businesses have created more than 1.5 million jobs for Floridians and their families. This tremendous growth demonstrates Florida businesses’ confidence in our economy and our talented workforce.”
The sectors showing the most year-over-year job growth across Florida in March:
▪ Professional and business services with 38,100;
▪ Leisure and hospitality with 32,300;
▪ Construction with 31,600;
▪ Education and health services with 21,200;
▪ Financial activities with 15,600.
Manatee County had 172,531 of a total labor force of 178,556 employed last month for a 3.4 percent jobless rate. In Sarasota County, 183,251 of 189,683 were employed for an identical 3.4 percent unemployment rate.
Okaloosa and St. Johns counties had the state’s lowest jobless rate in March at 3.0 percent. Sumter County had the highest at 5.4 percent, followed by Citrus County at 5.2.
This story was originally published April 20, 2018 at 11:43 AM with the headline "The jobless rate in Bradenton-Sarasota is among the most enviable in Florida. Here's why.."