Florida’s jobless rate dips to 3.1% _ lowest since 2006

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.1% last month, dipping to the lowest level in more than a decade.

The unemployment numbers were also down in the state’s largest metro areas and even lower than the statewide rate - 2.7% in Miami, 2.6% in Orlando, 2.7% in Tampa, 2.6% in Jacksonville and 2.7% in Pensacola.

Statewide, employers added nearly 202,000 private-sector jobs in November - the sixth consecutive monthly increase, the governor’s office said. The 2.6% increase in jobs eclipsed the national rate by a full percent.

Only twice in the past 40 years has the unemployment rate been as low. Florida’s unemployment rate slightly outpaced the national rate of 3.5% reported by the U.S. Bureau Labor Statistics.