September unemployment falls

TALLAHASSEE — After staying the largely unchanged during the summer months, Florida's September unemployment dropped to 10.6% from 10.7% in August. However, areas on the Gulf Coast saw slightly greater improvement, with Tampa Bay leading the way.

According to jobs data released today from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, unemployment numbers not seasonally adjusted fell in each of the four Gulf Coast Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) covered by the Business Review.

Unemployment is lowest in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA at 10.8%. This is an improvement from 11% in August, and 12.2% from a year ago. Similarly, in the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota area, unemployment fell to 10.9%, an improvement of 0.2% from a month ago and a 1.8% improvement from a year ago. Although unemployment fell, the number of workers employed in the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota market actually fell 600 from August, a decline of 0.3% that could be attributed to seasonal fluctuations.