Florida's unemployment rate dropped to 8.1% for the month of November, down 0.4% from October. The drop ties the record for the largest in Florida in twenty years.
Governor Rick Scott Friday pointed to a 60% increase in housing starts and other good signs for the economy.
"For the year, our trade surplus is $24 billion. We've got almost 90 million tourists coming this year", Scott siad. "But the biggest thing for families is that more families are employed. It's the biggest issue they deal with, is, 'I want a job.'"
Scott said private-sector job growth jumped to more than 24,000 in November. According to the University of Florida, consumer confidence in the state is near a five-year high.