New unemployment numbers show seven percent of the state’s workforce is out of a job. The numbers are up by four tenths of a percent over September and are up two point seven percent over October a year ago. Construction jobs continue top lead job losses.

Unemployment Hits Seven Percent and Florida’s unemployment offices are doing a booming business. 655,000 people are now out of work in Florida. Construction accounts for four of every 10 jobs lost. 12,000 people lost jobs in the financial industry. Statewide 156 thousand fewer people are working than October a year ago.

At seven percent, Florida’s unemployment rate is a full half a percent higher than the national average. Rebecca Rust, an economist for the Agency for Workforce Innovation, says don’t expect big improvements any time soon.

“We expect some improvements in the job market in the second half of 2009, and in 2010 and 2011, we should get back to normal growth levels”.

Education and health care are showing modest job gains. The state website, Employ Florida dot com lists 200 thousand job openings across the state. We found Arthur Johnson looking for work as a painter.

I’ve been painting for 15 years, and I applied for one yesterday and the interview went through. But they had another guy there who had more
experience, so they said if he don’t come through, they would contact me”.

This job seeker didn’t want her picture used or her identity to be known.

It’s put me in a bad position, a homeless position. A position where I can’t take care of myself nor my child”.

Miami and Tampa showed the biggest job losses, while six panhandle counties posted unemployment rates at or below five percent. The lowest unemployment rate belongs to Walton County where the rate is 4.5 percent. The highest rate is in Hendry County where 13 percent of the population is out of work. Slowness in seasonal agricultural work is being blamed for the high rate.