The U.S. unemployment rate stands at 9 percent, with 80,000 new jobs added in October, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report released today.
The October report also indicates that the number of unemployed persons is at 13.9 million, and that the unemployment rate âhas remained in a narrow range from 9.0 to 9.2 percent since April,â adding there was âmodest job growth continuing in professional and businesses services, leisure and hospitality, health care, and mining,â while government job numbers continued to fall.
The report indicates that at the national level, 22,000 jobs were added in the leisure and hospitality industry, while  health care added 12,000 jobs in October, following a gain of 45,000 in September.
Florida job growth in 2011 has been highly concentrated in leisure and hospitality, specifically accommodation and food services and health care.
The Bureau of Laborâs October report shows that the unemployment rate for blacks was 15.1 percent, Hispanics 11.4 percent, whites 8 percent, adult men 8.8 percent, adult women 8 percent and teenagers 24.1 percent.
The report adds that in October, 2.6 million persons were âmarginally attached to the labor force, about the same as a year earlier,â and that 967,000 of those people were discouraged workers, i.e. âpersons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them.â
A Bureau of Labor Statistics report also released this week indicates that Floridaâs six major metropolitan areas with a total workforce of over 6.6 million people had drops in their unemployment rate during the month of September.
