Florida's Unemployment Rate Equals National Rate

TALLAHASSEE - Florida's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May 2008 is 5.5 percent. This represents 512,000 jobless out of a labor force of 9,261,000. The unemployment rate is up 0.5 percentage point from the revised April rate of 5.0 and is up 1.6 percentage points over the year.

Florida's May 2008 unemployment rate is the highest since January 2003, which was also 5.5 percent. The state's unemployment rate is equal to the national unemployment rate of 5.5 percent.

In Highlands County, the percentage of unemployed was 5.7 percent in May, increasing by more than one-half point from April when the rate was 5 percent. Highlands' rate has jumped two percentage points since May of last year.

The Agency for Workforce Innovation works closely with Workforce Florida Inc. and its Regional Workforce Board partners, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise Florida Inc. to develop world-class talent and sustain personal and economic growth for Florida's employers and job seekers. These programs include the Short Time Compensation Program, a voluntary employer program designed to help employers maintain their workforce by offsetting the cost of full-time wages, instead of temporarily laying off employees; the Quick Response Training Program, providing customized training for new or expanding businesses; and the Incumbent and Employed Worker Training Programs, offering upgrade skills training for existing full-time employees.

In addition, the Employ Florida Marketplace, www.EmployFlorida.com, is a powerful online labor market exchange tool specifically designed for employers, job seekers, students, training providers, workforce customer service representatives and professionals and others seeking benefits and services.

For more information on these and other Agency for Workforce Innovation programs, go to www.FloridaJobs.org.

The agency notes unemployment and job growth rates are estimates, which are primarily based on surveys created and mandated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in cooperation with the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation.

The unemployment rate is derived from Florida household surveys conduced by the US Census Bureau under contract with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The job growth rate is derived from Florida employer surveys conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Both estimates are revised on a monthly basis. In addition, these estimates are benchmarked (revised) annually based on actual counts from Florida's Unemployment Compensation tax records and other data.