KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Florida's jobless rate rose slightly last month.
The state's unemployment rate ticked up to 5.7 percent in May from 5.6 in April.
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Despite the higher rate, Florida added 17,100 jobs last month, according to figures released Friday by the Department of Economic Opportunity.
The state's jobless rate remains higher than the national rate of 5.5 percent. There are approximately 545,000 unemployed Floridians.
Gov. Rick Scott announced the new unemployment rate while visiting a Kissimmee imaging technology company.
"We are excited to announce May was another strong month for job creation in Florida, with over 16,000 new private-sector jobs created," said Scott.
Scott has made job creation the main focus during his time in office.
"We will continue to cut taxes and create an environment where businesses can grow so Florida can become the global destination for jobs," said Scott.
New national data show that Florida added the sixth-highest number of jobs in the nation in May. California, New York, Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania added more jobs than Florida last month.