Driven largely by the housing market crisis, Florida’s unemployment continued to worsen during the month of November. In the same month last year, only 4.3 percent of the population was without work. Now 7.3 percent of residents are having trouble finding a job in Florida.

According to the state’s Agency for Workforce Innovation, unemployment in Florida hit the highest it had been in the last 15 years in October. This means it is now the highest it has been since June of 1993.

One of the area’s where the job market is now marked by the highest competition is in the Palm Beach. In October only 7.5 percent of residents were without work. According to the most recent statistics, 7.6 percent of the city’s population is unemployed. A year ago all but 4.6 percent of residents were holding down steady jobs.

As has been going on during the course of this year, the largest job losses continued to be in construction and other industries related to trade. With fewer people buying new property and the foreclosure rate in Florida being one of the highest in the nation, there is little need for new construction projects. Because of this construction jobs have been greatly effected.

Despite this, other areas of employment are now being hurt by the wide spread recession. Employers in retail, manufacturing and telecommunications are now laying off many of their workers.

Another industry that has taken a sever hit in the area is tourism, hospitality and leisure. With money as tight as it is, many people can no longer afford to travel. This effects many jobs in Florida.

During the month of November, only two areas of employed continued to create new jobs in the state. Due the necessity of the services they provide, healthcare and education both added a significant number of positions.

Hopefully, help may soon be on the way.

“‘Obtaining additional federal funds to enhance employment services for Florida’s jobseekers is one of the Agency’s top priorities, and we continue to focus our efforts on communicating Florida’s needs to our federal partners,” said the Director of the Agency for Workforce Innovation, Monesia T. Brown, in a recent statement. “We are also achieving success in working with our economic development and workforce partners to create employment opportunities for Floridians.’”

Four companies are expanding and creating more Florida jobs.

According to an article by Market Watch, some major companies in the State of Florida are making some major investments that will in turn create new Florida jobs.

WellDyneRx, a pharmacy benefit management company, is planning to expand and create 670 new jobs in the Tampa Bay area. The company is tripling its prescription mail service capacity and opening a 66,000-square-foot facility in Lakeland. The company also plans to invest $20 billion to establish its southeastern operation center.

“Slated to open in November 2008, the new facility will utilize an advanced robotic dispensing and distribution system capable of filling more than 30 million prescriptions annually,” the article notes. “The Lakeland location provides immediate access to major drug distribution centers and national transportation services for timely, cost effective shipments to WellDyneRx’s clients across the nation.”

Jabil Circuit Inc., a global electronic product solutions company, plans to create 858 jobs in the coming years, and already employs 1,838 people in Tampa Bay. The company is planning to build a new headquarters and manufacturing, research and development facilities in St. Petersburg, a project worth $54 million.

L-3 Aviation Recorders, which produces 70 percent of the world’s black boxes 80 percent of marine recorders, signed a 10-year lease on its 100,000-square-foot facility in Manatee County. The company employs 250 workers in Tampa Bay. Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, a research and development laboratory, is planning to build a BioMEMS center at the University of South Florida. This should create 165 jobs with an average salary of $75,000.