The unemployment rate in Florida held steady at 7.1 percent in June, Gov. Rick Scott announced Thursday, unexpectedly pre-empting the scheduled Friday release of the figures and offering good news on an otherwise bad news day.
The latest numbers show an additional 2,300 private-sector jobs in the Sunshine State.
“The creation of more than 2,000 private sector jobs last month is further evidence of the state’s continuing economic recovery,” Scott said in a release that caught many in the state government and media off-guard Thursday.
The release of the monthly numbers came against a backdrop of protesters calling for the governor to return to the Capitol to address their concerns about the “stand your ground” law and Department of Children and Families Secretary David Wilkins’ decision to resign.
Wilkins’ agency is embroiled in a controversy about the deaths of four children since May 16 and a dispute with local child-welfare agencies.
Florida Department of Economic Opportunity spokeswoman Jessica Sims said the local unemployment breakdowns will be released Friday morning, but the statewide figure was announced because the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics had “inadvertently” released the monthly percentage on Thursday.
The 7.1 percent unemployment rate is the lowest in Florida since September 2008 and remains below the national mark of 7.6 percent.
Florida has been below the national average for four months.
The monthly statewide number also comes as Scott has traveled for several new job announcements.
On Wednesday, Scott was in the western Panhandle as CHCS Services, a California-owned information-technology company, announced plans to bring up to 385 jobs to Pensacola and West Fraser Timber Co.’s mill in McDavid introduced plans to hire 80.
On Thursday, Scott announced Bristol-Myers Squibb planned to locate a facility in Tampa that would create 579 life-sciences jobs.
“Announcements like this from Bristol-Myers Squibb show that companies are taking notice of our economic turnaround and that it’s working in Florida,” Scott stated in a separate release.
The need for jobs also has been playing out in recent weeks as communities across the state cobble together financial packages intended to entice Internet giant Amazon to open one of the planned distribution “fulfillment” centers that would result in 3,000 jobs and more than $300 million in investments within Florida.