Florida unemployment rate holds steady for February

State labor officials said Friday that 4.6 percent of the work force was unemployed in February, the same as in January. That's 422,000 people out of work and looking for jobs. However, the primary reason for the status quo is that both the labor force and the number of jobs shrank.

The big job losses have been in construction, down 12.3 percent from a year ago, and manufacturing, down 5.6 percent. The gains have been in health care, government and food services.

Unemployment in the Tampa Bay area showed slight improvement from last month, though the numbers have not been seasonally adjusted. The unemployment rate was 4.5 percent for Pinellas and Hillsborough, 5.6 percent for Pasco and 6.6 percent for Hernando. Statewide February unemployment was highest in Flagler County (7.4 percent) and lowest in Liberty County (2.9 percent). See the full details here.

--Helen Huntley, Times Staff Writer