The unemployment rate in Palm Beach County in Sept. 2009 was 11.7 percent, up 4.1 percentage points from the Sept. 2008 rate of 7.6 percent.   The County’s unemployment rate was 0.5 percentage points higher than the state’s rate of 11.2 percent in Sept., and 2.2 percentage points higher than the USA rate of 9.5 percent, not seasonally adjusted.

Out of a labor force of 626,400 in Palm Beach County, 73,415 were unemployed.

Industries that had job growth during the past twelve months included education and health services (up 1.4 %), government (up 0.9 %), and other personal services (up 0.4 %).

Greatest job losses during the past year were in: construction (down 18.2 %); manufacturing (down 9.4 %); leisure and hospitality (down 6.8 %); and retail trade (down 6.7 %).

Read More