Florida’s unemployment rate dipped slightly in October. Orlando beat out other metro areas in the state in job gains over the past year.
Florida’s unemployment rate inched down slightly to 5.1 percent from 5.2 percent in September.
PNC Bank economist Mekael Teshome said Florida joins other southern states feeling a nice economic bounce. “A lot of that has to do with demographics,” he said. “We have fast population growth that’s driving demand for everything including housing and consumer goods.”
Seminole, Orange and Lake counties all had unemployment rates lower than the state’s, with much of the job growth in the metro Orlando area coming from the leisure and hospitality industries.