TALLAHASSEE
Florida’s unemployment rate continued its decline in January, but data released Tuesday shows that the economic miracle touted by Gov. Rick Scott may not have been as big as once thought.
State officials reported that Florida’s new jobless rate is 9.6 percent. It was 9.9 percent at the end of 2011.
That means that the unemployment rate has dropped 11 of the last 13 months.
“It’s great to see Florida’s economy is trending in the right direction and our unemployment rate is the lowest in three years,” Scott said in a statement. The Republican added, “We have more work to do.”
The latest round of unemployment figures were also accompanied by a bit of bad news: The state lost 38,600 jobs in January — more than any other state in January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Additionally, there have not been as many new jobs created in the state during the last year.
Annual revisions show the state added 92,800 jobs during 2011. Scott had previously touted a growth of more than 100,000 jobs since he first took office. He has contended that his push for tax cuts and to cut regulations was drawing potential employers.
But if the loss of jobs reported for January is counted, then Florida has only added an estimated 54,200 jobs during Scott’s first 13 months in office.
It’s not a secret that the numbers are refined as more information becomes available, including unemployment compensation records. Economists say that the monthly unemployment reports are useful — especially when reviewed with other economic data.
Scott has given the numbers additional political currency since he was elected on a pledge of creating 700,000 jobs over a seven-year period. He has highlighted the job growth numbers and drops in unemployment numbers in public appearances.
In December, the Scott administration trumpeted numbers that showed that the unemployment rate had dropped 2.1 percentage points during his first year in office.
New numbers recalculated by federal officials show that Florida’s unemployment rate was actually 11.1 percent in December 2010 and not 12 percent as previously reported.
That means that the overall drop during Scott’s first year in office was roughly half of what everyone thought it was.
The jobless numbers and the job growth figures are calculated by using two different surveys.
Florida’s unemployment rate that is announced each month is based on a survey of roughly 2,500 households, said Rebecca Rust, the chief economist for Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity. Rust said a different survey that goes out to thousands of employers is what is used to come up with numbers of how many jobs have been added.
But when the numbers are revised they can change dramatically. Florida, for example, reported job losses in January 2010 and January 2011 only to show positive growth later.
Sean Snaith, a University of Central Florida economist, said that none of surveys used are perfect. But he added that by “doing it monthly we get some idea of where we are headed.”
