Pinellas County's unemployment rate for April is down nearly a full percentage point, according to the latest figures from the Florida Agency of Workforce Innovation.
April's rate was 11.5 percent, compared to March when 12.4 percent of the county's labor force was looking for a job.
In April, 51,629 of the county's labor force of 447,989 were looking for a job. In March, 55,693 out of a labor force of 450,195 were unemployed.
While, the numbers appear to be moving in the right direction, unemployment in Pinellas remains high compared to April 2009 when the unemployment rate was 9.8 percent, and only 43,765 of 446,068 were unemployed.
Florida's unemployment rate for April also is down 0.3 percent - the first monthly decline since February 2006. The state's unemployment rate for April is 12 percent, with a job gain of 15,500.
However, state officials said out of a labor force of almost 9.3 million, more than 1.1 million remain unemployed.
Florida's unemployment rate remains higher than the national rate, which increased from 9.7 in March to 9.9 in April. State officials said economists attribute the increase to people re-entering the job market. Statistics show that nationally 805,000 people without jobs entered the labor force as job seekers in April.
National statistics also show an increase of 290,000 jobs in the United States in April, the biggest monthly total in four years.
"While we recognize that it will take some time to emerge from this recession, this decrease in unemployment rates for the first time coupled with a significant increase in jobs nationally and growth here in Florida are very positive signs, said Agency for Workforce Innovation Director Cynthia R. Lorenzo.
Floridians' consumer confidence index also is showing gains with a six-point increase from March to April, according to the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
"The largest increase (in consumer confidence) was in Floridians perceptions of whether it is a good time to purchase big-ticket consumer items ...," the report said. "Consumers have a positive outlook on the short- and long-term economic conditions as well."
Another positive was the April decline in unemployment from 12.8 in March to 11.9 for the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the counties of Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas.
Flagler County held on to the No. 1 spot with the highest unemployment in the state at 15.4 percent. Liberty County ranked No. 68 and had the lowest unemployment rate of 6.7 percent.
Pinellas County ranked No. 25. Ranking for the other counties in the local MSA include Hernando at No. 2, Pasco at No. 7, Hillsborough at No. 24. The local MSA ranked No. 8 statewide.
Construction remains the industry with the largest number of jobs lost, according to the report. Other industries losing jobs include leisure and hospitality, financial activities, manufacturing and information.
Private education, health services and government continue to be the only sectors with job growth. Most of the increase in government is due to state government.
