Lee, Charlotte job growth finds renewed July traction
Lee and Charlotte jobless rates resumed their downward trend in July after a one-month hiccup in June.
Unemployment in Lee and Charlotte counties has dropped six of the past seven months.
The July jobless rate dipped only a tenth of a percent in each Southwest Florida county, which still represents roughly a 2.6 percent improvement since the beginning of the year.
In July 2010, Lee County unemployment was 13.1 percent and on the rise while it was 11.6 percent in July this year.
The Charlotte County jobless rate was 12.5 percent and rising this time a year ago compared with 11 percent in July.
The slim local job gains, coming in the onset of the slow season, reflected state and nationwide employment counts.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in July is 10.7 percent, unchanged from a month ago and an improvement from 11.5 percent in July 2010.
The U.S. unemployment rate is 9.1 percent in July, down from 9.2 in June and 9.5 in July 2010.
Job creation is being touted by state officials tired of being pestered about the persistently high unemployment rates in Florida.
“Mixed signals from economic indicators during recovery are common,” said AWI Director Cynthia Lorenzo in releasing her monthly report. “Fluctuations in rates of unemployment and job growth are typical examples of starts and stops while the economy rebounds and unemployed workers who may have given up looking for work rejoin the workforce.”
Florida still counts 987,000 jobless out of a labor force of 9.22 million. Florida lost 22,100 jobs in July although year-to-date it has added 64,300 jobs.
Locally, job creation was more fruitful.
Lee County employed 271,570 people in July, which represents a gain of 2,009 jobs in one month. Year-over-year, Lee County job counts are still off 5,285 from July 2010.
Charlotte County’s labor force was estimated at 68,419 in July, virtually flat from a month earlier and a year-over-year loss of 996 jobs.
Higher unemployment compensation taxes, first levied in January, nearly doubled the jobless benefit cost of adding new employees in Florida with the total estimated at $2 billion. The minimum unemployment tax rate for employers went from $25 per worker to just under $75 with another $9 per employee boost in June.
At 18.8 percent, Hendry County had the highest July unemployment rate in the state. Lee County unemployment ranked 19th highest among all 67 Florida counties followed by Charlotte County at No. 29 and Sarasota at No. 33.