Highlands' joblesss rate drops slightly in August

Florida's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August 2009 is 10.7 percent, according to the Agency for Workforce Innovation.

Highlands County's rate, which was 11.5 percent in July, dropped slightly to 11.4 percent last month. It was 8.4 percent in August 2008.

This represents 984,000 jobless out of a labor force of 9,194,000. The unemployment rate is nearly unchanged from the revised July rate of 10.8 percent and is up 4.2 percentage points from the August 2008 rate.

The state's current unemployment rate is 1.0 percentage point higher than the national unemployment rate of 9.7 percent. The last time the unemployment rate was higher than the past three months was October 1975 when it was 11 percent.

Florida's total nonagricultural employment in August 2009 is 7,348,400, representing a job loss of 372,700, or -4.8 percent compared to August 2008. This is steeper than the national rate of decline for August which is -4.3 percent over the year. The August 2009 job loss continues the trend of annual declines that began in August 2007. The downturn started with declines in construction jobs, but has now spread to almost all other major industries.

"The relative stability of Florida's unemployment rate over the past few months is encouraging. We anticipate improvement in Florida's job market in the second quarter of next year and are already seeing glimmers of hope to that effect," said Agency for Workforce Innovation Director Cynthia R. Lorenzo.

Based on the Florida Economic Estimating Conference held July 17, Florida's job market is expected to start improving in the second quarter of 2010 as the job growth rate turns positive. Current forecasts project a job growth rate of 1.5 percent in the second quarter of next year. Florida's unemployment rate is forecasted to peak at 11 percent in the second quarter of 2010 before beginning a gradual decrease.

FAST FACTS

August 2009 jobless rate: 10.7 percent

August 2008 jobless rate: 8.4 percent