Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the Naples area added 4,800 new private-sector jobs in the past year. The area’s unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in August, down 0.2 percentage point from one year ago. The Fort Myers area added 10,500 new private-sector jobs in the past year. The area’s unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in August, down 0.1 percentage point from one year ago.

The industry with the highest growth over the year in the Naples area was construction with 2,100 new jobs. In August, Naples area had 4,550 job openings and of those, 776 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, education and health services with 2,100 new jobs and professional and business services with 2,100 new jobs. In August, the Fort Myers area had 10,069 job openings and of those, 2,017 were for high-skill, high-wage STEM jobs.

Statewide, Florida businesses created 18,900 new private-sector jobs in August 2019. Florida’s annual private-sector job growth rate of 2.8 percent continues to exceed the nation’s rate of 1.6 percent. Florida’s unemployment rate of 3.3 percent represents a drop of 0.1 percentage point over the year. This is while 143,000 people entered Florida’s labor force, a growth of 1.4 percent in the past year.

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

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