Pinellas County's unemployment rate for April is down nearly a full percentage point, according to the latest figures from the Florida Agency of Workforce Innovation.
April's rate was 11.5 percent, compared to March when 12.4 percent of the county's labor force was looking for a job.
In April, 51,629 of the county's labor force of 447,989 were looking for a job. In March, 55,693 out of a labor force of 450,195 were unemployed.
For the first time since February 2006, Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has fallen. April unemployment slipped to 12 percent from March’s revised rate of 12.3 percent.
This represents 1,113,000 jobless out of a labor force of 9,282,000, according to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s Consumer Sentiment fell in March by three points to 70 as the state’s bleak unemployment rate cast doubts about the long-term health of the economy and people’s ability to make major household purchases, according to a new University of Florida survey.
“The decline in optimism is almost certainly related to persistent elevated levels of unemployment in Florida and the perception that jobs are neither secure nor widely available,” said Chris McCarty, survey director of UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
TALLAHASSEE — Florida matched its highest-ever unemployment rate in January — 11.9 percent — with 1.1 million Floridians out of work.
Escambia County had 11.7 percent unemployment in January, up 0.6 points from December and 2.6 points higher than the year before. Wednesday's report said 16,456 were out of work in January.
Santa Rosa County had 10.9 percent unemployment in January, 0.9 points from December and 2.8 points higher than the year before. The state reported there were 7,723 out of work in January.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It’s a small bounce, but Florida’s population should rebound this year from its first loss in more than half a century in a hopeful sign for the struggling state economy, new estimates from the University of Florida show.
The Sunshine State is expected to add about 23,000 residents between April 1, 2009, and April 1, 2010, following a loss of almost 57,000 residents the previous year, according to population projections released today by UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
Just when analysts thought the long housing slide was over, national figures for new home sales in January sank to another low, with numbers not seen since record-keeping began in 1963.
The 11.2 percent drop in sales of new homes from December surprised some experts who had expected the market to perk up after a dismal end-of-year showing.
Department of Commerce figures released Wednesday showed January's seasonally adjusted annual sales pace was 309,000 nationally. The previous record low for monthly sales was January 2009 with 329,000.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s Consumer Sentiment fell in February by two points to 72, reflecting concerns about unemployment that is growing worse statewide even as it improves for the nation at large, according to a new University of Florida survey.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s Consumer Sentiment unexpectedly rose in January by five points to 74, possibly a sign of post-holiday relief, according to a new University of Florida survey.
“The sharp rise was somewhat of a surprise,” said Chris McCarty, survey director of UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research. “In the past we have seen similar jumps in the January index, perhaps in response to the financial stress associated with the holidays and the economic turbulence of the past year.”
Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Raul Lopez, laid off from three construction jobs since October 2007, is focusing his search for work near Antioch, California, because his $392,000 mortgage is almost triple the price his home there would sell for today.
“If it wasn’t for the house, I’d probably move closer to Oakland, Hayward, San Leandro, places where there are jobs,” said Lopez, 36, who is married with four daughters.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.— Three renowned economists agree Florida's boom days are over and that the state's recovery from the recession is likely to take awhile.
Economist Kevin Hassett of the American Enterprise Institute said Thursday that Florida is one of the states facing difficulty going forward following a 20-month national recession that wreaked "an astonishing period of economic misery."
Hassett told lawmakers that even if the recession was declared over in August, the risk of calamity remains.
"Gloomy," state Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, said afterward. "What to do?"
