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Home Florida More Florida News Hurricane Irma Cost Florida 127K Jobs, But Most Will Return

Hurricane Irma Cost Florida 127K Jobs, But Most Will Return

In this Sept. 11, 2017 photo, Larry Dimas walk around his destroyed trailer in Immokalee, Fla. Irma badly damaged Dimas’ mobile home and destroyed another he used for rental income, making his tough life even harder. Photo: AP Photo/Gerald Herbert.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers cut jobs in six U.S. states last month, particularly in hurricane-hit Florida, while hiring increased in five and was mostly unchanged in 39 states.

The Labor Department says Florida lost 127,000 jobs last month, mostly in hotels, restaurants and retail stores, after Hurricane Irma flooded much of the state. Most of those job losses will prove temporary, and hiring should bounce back in the coming months.

A fallen palm tree and a roof litters a street as Rick Freedman checks his neighborhood’s damage from Hurricane Irma in Marco Island, Fla., Monday, Sept. 11, 2017. Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman.

The state data provide a more complete picture of how Hurricanes Harvey and Irma affected the U.S. job market. Outside of Texas and Florida, companies added jobs, but likely at a slower pace than the average gain this year.

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands were unable to collect job data last month because of the devastation from Hurricanes Irma and Maria.