The Agency for Workforce Innovation, a workforce agency in Florida, reported that Florida continues to be a national model for the number of new jobs created, with an annual job growth rate that is more than twice the national average.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist has called his state a “national leader in job creation,” and the facts released by the Agency for Workforce Innovation show that:

• From December 2005 to December 2006, Florida added 212,600 new jobs, growing by 2.7%, seasonally adjusted.
• Professional and business services and leisure and hospitality accounted for 45.1% of the new jobs.
• Florida’s December 2006 unemployment rate was 3.3%, 1.2 percentage points below the December national rate of 4.5%.
• Florida’s unemployment rate has been below the national rate since mid-2002, with the lowest unemployment rate of the 10 most populous states.
• In December 2006, there were 8,156,100 jobs in Florida compared to 8,137,300 in November 2006, an increase of 18,800 jobs in one month.
• Poorly performing job sectors include construction (2,000 jobs lost in the last month of the year, despite an increase of 19,200 jobs between 2005 and 2006) and manufacturing (3,700 jobs lost since 2005).

Despite the slowdown in construction jobs, the massive tornado that struck central Florida February 2 is expected to jump-start construction jobs. The storm destroyed more than 1,500 homes and buildings.