Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the Naples area added 4,100 new private-sector jobs in the past year. The area’s unemployment rate was 2.6 percent in April, down 0.5 percentage point from one year ago. The Fort Myers area added 10,100 new private-sector jobs in the past year. The area’s unemployment rate was 2.8 percent in April, down 0.4 percentage point from one year ago.

The industry with the highest growth over the year in the Naples area was construction with 2,200 new jobs. In April, Naples area had 4,831 job openings and of those, 849 were for high-skill, high-wage STEM jobs.

The industries with the highest growth over the year in the Fort Myers area were construction with 2,800 new jobs and leisure and hospitality with 2,800 new jobs. In April, Fort Myers area had 10,339 job openings and of those, 1,874 were for high-skill, high-wage STEM jobs.

Statewide, Florida businesses created 16,000 new private-sector jobs in April 2019. Florida’s annual private-sector job growth rate of 2.7 percent continues to exceed the nation’s rate of 2.0 percent. Florida’s unemployment rate of 3.4 percent represents a drop of 0.3 percentage point over the year. This is while 136,000 people entered Florida’s labor force, a growth of 1.3 percent in the past year.

To view the April 2019 employment data, visit www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.

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