TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) _ Florida’s jobless rate is rising slightly.
The state’s unemployment rate ticked up to 5.7 percent in May. That’s a slight rise from the previous month. Despite the higher rate Florida added 17,100 jobs last month according to figures released Friday by the Department of Economic Opportunity.
The state’s jobless rate remains higher than the national rate of 5.5 percent. There are approximately 545,000 unemployed Floridians.
Gov. Rick Scott announced the new unemployment rate at a central Florida imaging technology company. Scott has made job creation the main focus during his time in office.
New national data shows that Florida added the sixth highest number of jobs in the nation in May. California, New York, Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania added more jobs Florida did last month.
