Southwest Florida unemployment falls to 4.7% in September

Southwest Florida’s unemployment rate fell to 4.7% in September from 5.1% in August, matching its year-earlier level, according to FloridaCommerce data. The six-county CareerSource Southwest Florida region had 33,812 unemployed residents and a labor force of 712,874. Charlotte County recorded the highest unemployment rate at 5.6%, followed by Glades at 5.2%, Hendry at 5.1%, Lee at 4.8%, Collier at 4.7% and Monroe at 3.1%. Employment across the Lee, Collier and Charlotte metropolitan areas increased by 9,600 jobs over the year to 548,600. Leisure and hospitality led the gains with 4,100 jobs, followed by education and health services with 3,200. The figures are not seasonally adjusted.