Sunshine Sentinel

Flordia continues its economic rebound since the COVID-19 pandemic, state officials said Sept. 17, highlighting that there have been 16 consecutive months of gains. 

The recent numbers released found that the unemployment rate had a slight drop from July's 5.1% to 5% in August, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity said in a release. 

"Under the leadership of Governor [Ron] DeSantis, Florida's unemployment rate is decreasing," state Economic Opportunity Secretary Dane Eagle said in the release. 

Maintaining its position well under the national unemployment rate of 5.2%, Florida saw an increase of 19,400 jobs between July and August and 990,440 since April 2020. 

Florida's workforce increased by 65,000 over the month and by 373,000 over the last five months. According to the Economic Opportunity Department, the growth is attributed to the Sunshine State's Return to Work initiative. 

The Economic Opportunity Department describes the Return to Work initiative as a way to help companies to find employees as part of efforts to regrow the economy during the coronavirus. 

This initiative is focused on encouraging Floridians to return to the workforce, helping employers attract job seekers, and continuing to fuel the state's economic growth.

"This positive sign shows that Floridians are returning to work, and Florida's economy continues to provide opportunities for meaningful employment," Eagle said. "I look forward to working with Floridians to continue these economic successes."

The private sector added more than 19,000 jobs between July and August, the Economic Opportunity Department said. Lead the way was the financial activities sector, with 8,900 jobs. The professional business service, education and health service, and information-related industry also posted strong numbers for the month-to-month report.