TAMPA - Florida recorded its first year-over-year loss of jobs in more than five years in January as the state lost 7,300 nonagricultural jobs over the year.
According to new data from the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, Florida had about 8,049,200 nonagricultural jobs in January, a drop of 0.1 percent when compared with the 8,056,500 jobs in January 2007.
The state's unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent in January from 4.5 percent in December. The January rate is up a full percentage point when compared with the January 2007 rate of 3.6 percent.
The Agency for Workforce Innovation pins much of the blame for the jobs loss on the construction industry. Construction employment fell by 69,000 jobs from January 2007 through January, or a decrease of 10.9 percent.
The last time Florida saw a loss of jobs when comparing one year to the previous year was in August 2002, when the state lost 11,900 jobs.
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