Tallahassee, FL — On Jan 20th, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Florida’s unemployment rate dropped to 2.5 percent in December 2022, a historic low last reached in 2006, demonstrating that Florida has continued to grow and recover after enduring two hurricanes in late 2022. Florida’s private sector employment increased by 425,800 jobs over the year and Florida’s labor force grew by 3.5 percent, more than double the national growth rate of 1.6 percent.

“Florida continues to outpace the nation and withstand negative headwinds due to federal policy,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “I look forward to building off our success with record tax relief in the upcoming legislative session.”

“Thanks to Governor DeSantis’ Freedom First policies, Florida continues to lead the nation in achieving economic milestones,” said Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) Acting Secretary Meredith Ivey. “DEO is proud to support the Governor’s mission to keep Florida free by identifying opportunities for growth and providing the resources citizens, businesses, and communities need to be successful.”

December 2022 marks the second month in 2022 that Florida reached a 2.5 percent unemployment rate. Florida’s private sector employment increased by 425,800 jobs over the year in December 2022 (+5.3 percent), two full percentage points faster than the national over-the-year growth rate of 3.3 percent. In December 2022, Florida’s private sector employment increased by 18,000 over the month (+0.2 percentage point). Florida’s labor force grew by 3.5 percent over the year in December 2022, faster than the national growth rate of 1.6 percent over the same time period.

The education and health services sectors gained the most jobs among all major industries, adding 9,500 jobs (+0.7 percent) over the month, followed by trade, transportation, and utilities, adding 5,400 jobs (+0.3 percent), and construction, adding 3,300 jobs (+0.5 percent).  

Florida’s population increased to 22.2 million in 2022, maintaining the state’s status as the third largest in the nation behind California and Texas. Idaho had the second highest growth rate among all states at +1.8 percent followed by South Carolina (+1.7 percent) and Texas (+1.6 percent). New York, California, and Illinois are among states that experienced negative growth in 2022, with growth rates of -0.9 percent, -0.3 percent, and -0.8 percent, respectively. 

Florida also experienced the largest net migration in 2022, ranking the fastest growing state in the nation with a growth rate of 1.9 percent. Domestic migration accounted for 318,855 of Florida’s net migration total, also the largest gain of any state. Florida ranked second among all states for numeric population growth over the year, gaining 416,754 people. Domestic migration accounted for 318,855 of the net migration total, also the largest gain of any state. Florida has experienced positive growth every year since 1946.

Data in the month of December continues to indicate there are many job opportunities available for Floridians throughout the state, with more than 442,000 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.

Florida Economic Indicators for December 2022 include:

• Unemployment rate is 2.5 percent, 0.1 percentage point lower than the previous month’s rate and 1.0 percentage point lower than the national rate of 3.5 percent.
• Florida’s statewide unemployment rate has been lower than the national rate for 25 consecutive months since December 2020.
• Between December 2021 and December 2022, Florida’s labor force grew by 361,000, or 3.5 percent. This was faster than the national labor force growth rate of 1.6 percent over the year.
• Between December 2021 and December 2022, total private sector employment grew by 425,800 jobs (+5.3 percent), faster than the national private sector job growth rate of 3.3 percent over the year.
• As of December 2022, Florida employers have added jobs for 32 consecutive months since May 2020. Florida’s private sector over-the-year job growth rate has exceeded the nation’s for 21 consecutive months since April 2021. 
• Private sector industries gaining the most jobs over the month were:
• Education and Health Services with 9,500 new jobs.
• Trade, Transportation, and Utilities with 5,400 new jobs.
• Construction with 3,300 new jobs.

To view the December 2022 jobs reports by region, please see below:

Fort Lauderdale

Jacksonville

Miami

Orlando

Pensacola

Southwest Florida

Tampa

West Palm Beach

To view the December 2022 employment data, visit: www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.

Visit Florida Insight for more information on labor market and economic data. Additionally, the Department has provided a video to assist users in explaining the data provided through Florida Insight.