Fla.'s Nov. unemployment rate drops to 8.1%

Florida's unemployment rate has dropped to its lowest level in four years.

State officials said on Friday that the November rate was 8.1 percent. That's down by 0.4 percentage point from October. And it's the lowest rate since November 2008, when Florida had 7.8 percent jobless rate.

That still left 760,000 Floridians out of work and the state's rate again topped the national figure, which was 7.7 percent for November.

Florida, though, has been steadily closing the gap in recent months.

That's been good news for Gov. Rick Scott, who has made job creation the hallmark of his administration.

Scott hailed the jobless report for giving more Floridians a paycheck for the holidays.

Polls, though, show the Republican governor's job approval rate still lagging below the 40 percent level.

In Broward County, the unemployment rate fell from 7.1 percent in Oct. to 7 percent in November. That's compared to 8.8 percent in Nov. 2011.

In Miami-Dade County, it fell from 8.9 percent in Oct. to 8 percent in November. That's compared to 9.5 percent in Nov. 2011.

In Monroe County, the unemployment rate remained at 4.7 percent. That's compared to 6.2 percent in Nov. 2011.