Governor DeSantis Announces Orlando Area Private Sector Employment Up 5.2 Percent Over the Year, Leading Florida’s Job Gains in Two Major Industries

Orlando, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the Orlando area’s private sector employment was up 5.2 percent over the year in October 2022, leading the states job gains in two major industries: leisure and hospitality (+28,200 jobs), and manufacturing (+6,000 jobs). The Orlando area added 61,700 new private sector jobs and the Orlando area labor force increased by 54,612 (+4.0 percent) over the year. The Orlando area unemployment rate was 2.8 percent, a decrease of 1.2 percentage points from 4.0 percent reported in October 2021.

The industries gaining the most jobs over the year were leisure and hospitality, and trade, transportation, and utilities (+12,700 jobs).

Governor Ron DeSantis also announced that Florida surpassed pre-pandemic employment levels in all nine major private sector industries and created jobs for the 30^th consecutive month in October 2022. Over the month, Florida’s labor force grew 0.3 percent (+36,000) while the national labor force shrank, and Florida’s private sector employment grew by 0.4 percent over the month (+35,000 jobs), doubling the national growth rate of 0.2 percent.

Florida’s statewide unemployment rate was 2.7 percent in October 2022, an increase of 0.2 percentage point over the month but 1.0 percentage point lower than the national rate of 3.7 percent. Florida’s statewide unemployment rate has been lower than the national rate for 23 consecutive months since December 2020.

Data in the month of October continues to indicate there are many job opportunities available for Floridians throughout the state, with more than 476,000 jobs posted online. Floridians in search of work and new job opportunities are encouraged to turn to the CareerSource Florida network for help. Floridians can find guidance on how to register with Employ Florida and search listings of available local job openings. Career seekers also can improve their employability by perfecting resume writing and interviewing skills, establishing career goals, and pursuing customized career training. These services are provided at no cost to job seekers.

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