Florida unemployment hits 11.8 percent in December

Florida's unemployment rate rose to 11.8 percent in December 2009, up 0.3 percentage points from a month earlier, the state labor department announced Friday. It is the highest rate since May 1975, when unemployment was 11.9 percent.

Miami-Dade's rate was 11.7 percent, up from 11.1 percent in November, according to federal statistics.

Miami-Dade's numbers are adjusted to remove the effects of normal seasonal changes, such as summer layoffs at hotels. The government doesn't publish adjusted numbers for other Florida counties, so monthly comparisons would be hard to interpret.

Florida's unemployment rate is 1.8 percentage points higher than the national rate, which is 10.0 percent.

The statewide rate was 7.6 percent in December 2008.

http://www.miamiherald.com/101/story/1439773.html