When you consider making a living and building a future, Florida is truly a place where opportunity abounds - the opportunity for every child to learn to reach their full potential, the opportunity to feel safe at work and in our neighborhoods, and the opportunity to thrive and grow as a business. It is these opportunities that bring nearly 900 new people a day to live in Florida.
Today, Florida continues to lead the nation in job growth, a position we have
held for the last two years. In fact, our unemployment rate has again dropped to
4.6 percent in April from 4.9 percent in March and down from 5.3 percent a year
ago. These numbers mean that Florida’s job market has expanded by more than
168,000 jobs in the last year.
New job growth is a sign of Florida’s improving economy. An improving economy
brings growth and opportunity across the spectrum - from tourism and the service
sector to construction, financial activities, health and education.
Our current tax structure, and our governor and legislature’s commitment to tax relief, have helped foster economic growth and job creation. Our expanding economy demands that we devote our resources to help educate and train hard-working Floridians to fill the jobs.
These are important challenges for state leaders as we continue to develop Florida’s economic growth, and I’m committed to the principles which will lead to future success.
The cityscape for May is downtown Tampa as seen from the Hillsborough River
near the University of Tampa..
