Surprise: U.S. jobless rate drops

A surprising drop in the nation’s unemployment rate brought new hope that the job market will improve quicker than expected. At last report, however, Florida’s jobless rate remains at least a full percentage point higher than the national average, a sign the state will recover more slowly than other places. Marco Rubio The national rate fell from 10.2 percent in October to 10 percent in November. Florida’s rate reached 11.2 percent in October, with the November report still to come. Senate candidate Marco Rubio, a conservative Republican from Miami, chose to take the gloomy view. “Today’s release of unemployment figures serves as a sobering reminder that over 15 million Americans, including over 1 million Floridians, remain out of work,” the candidate said in a prepared statement. “Since the (economic) stimulus (bill) passed with promises of immediate job creation, over 150,000 Floridians and 3 million nationwide have lost their jobs,” Rubio said.

“Rather than help spur economic activity, the stimulus has depressed it.” Since the last days of the Bush administration, economists have forecast that the unemployment rate will get worse before it gets better. The pace of recovery, however, has been slower than the Obama administration expected at the start of this year. Economists at the University of Florida expect the state rate to peak next year, perhaps in spring. Florida was damaged by the recession even more than most states because of its reliance on the beleaguered construction and real estate industries. Many of those jobs may never return. The state may need to develop other aspects of its economy, such as scientific research, space technology and health care. Meantime, the downtick in the nationwide rate just before the holidays gives at least a momentary reason to cheer.

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Surprise: U.S. jobless rate drops

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