JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida gained almost 23,000 jobs last month, the most of any state other than Texas, which dropped the Sunshine State's unemployment rate to 3.3%.
Figures released Friday by the state Department of Economic Opportunity Friday shows Florida added 227,000 jobs year over year, the most of any state but Texas and California.
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The latest monthly totals reflect 344,000 jobless Floridians in a workforce of 10.35 million.
Florida’s July jobless rate dipped to 3.3 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, according to numbers released by the state Department of Economic Opportunity Friday.
DEO Executive Director Ken Lawson credits the job increases to Florida’s conservative tax and regulatory policies.
“Folks have confidence in our economy. Businesses are being created. They are hiring people, and we have individuals in Florida who have jobs, so they can feed their families and pay their mortgages.," Lawson said.
The state’s unemployment rate remains below the national rate, which held at 3.7%. Metro Jacksonville's rate is 3.5%, with the most new jobs in the leisure and hospitality fields, followed by education and health care, then construction jobs.
St. Johns County continues to have one of the state's lowest unemployment rates -- 2.9% -- while neighboring Putnam County has among the highest rates -- 4.6%.
Friday’s report comes two days after state economists projected Florida will take in about $867 million fewer dollars in revenue over the next two years than anticipated.
Economists attribute the drop in expected revenue to a combination of a slowing economy and the reverberations of financial decisions.