County Unemployment At 9.7 Percent

By the end of the summer, the local unemployment rate reached the highest point in nearly 16 years.

Since then, it has only gotten worse - inching closer to double digits.

In August, the unemployment rate in Hernando County jumped to 9.1 percent, the highest it had been since 1992 when it peaked at 10.3 percent.

In September, it was 9.3 percent. On Friday, the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation released its statistics for October. The rate came in at 9.7 percent.

"Basically, the manufacturing and construction is still slow," said Ken Russ, a spokesman with the Pasco-Hernando Workforce Board. "We've seen some increases in education and the medical field."

More specifically, the October numbers are the worst in Hernando County since September 1992, when unemployment was 10.3 percent. That year, the rate was at or about 10 percent for six months. The average that year was 9.5 percent.

So far, the county's average for 2008 is nearly 7.9 percent.

In years past, the unemployment rate decreases during the holiday season, but economists do not expect any sustained improvement until mid-2009, said Russ.

"By then, we should be making that turn around," he added.

In September, Hernando County was ranked No. 8 in the state in unemployment. One month later, it surpassed Lee, Indian River and Charlotte counties and was ranked No. 5, according to the agency's report.

Hendry County is at 13 percent, while Flagler, St. Lucie and Okeechobee posted 10.5, 10.2, and 10 percent unemployment, respectively.

Of the five counties with the highest unemployment rate, only Hernando had higher numbers in October compared to September, according to the report.

Florida's unemployment rate is at 7 percent, up from the September rate of 6.6 percent.