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Florida's Unemployment Rate Dropped by 4 Percentage Points in August As State Began Slow Economic Recovery

Photo: Christopher Burns
Photo: Christopher Burns

The unemployment rate in Florida fell by four percentage points between July and August to 7.4 percent as more than 57,900 jobs were filled.

753,000 people were unemployed in Florida in August. 

PNC Financial Services Group economist Abbey Omodunbi says this number is an improvement from the previous months of the pandemic.

“The labor market and the Florida economy is recovering and trending in the right direction. It’s going to take a few years to get back to its pre-pandemic level, but things are headed in the right direction.”

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Omodunbi says the hospitality industry has been the hardest hit, losing more than 249,000 jobs over the last year.

“This sector has had the most job losses, but it’s also had the most job gains in recent months. So the more the businesses reopen going forward, the more the leisure and hospitality industry will improve in the next coming months.”

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Osceola County continues to have the highest rate of unemployment in the state at 15.1 percent.

To read the full DEO report, click on the link.

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Danielle Prieur covers education in Central Florida.