FLORIDA POLITICS: Rick Scott says jobs will ‘flow’ back to Florida under Byron Donalds

The two men appeared together in South Florida on Monday.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott has spent months hammering job creation under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ tenure — and he’s now making the case that U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds is the leader to get Florida’s economic momentum back.

“We’re going to have jobs, right? And when I was Governor, we were able to add a lot of jobs. Not quite as many now,” Scott said Monday in Doral.

Scott, who presided over the creation of nearly 1.7 million private-sector jobs during his eight years as Governor, has grown increasingly critical of his successor’s economic record in recent months.

He has pointed to several indicators — an unemployment rate now above the national average, recent net job losses and a slowing labor market — arguing the trends are bad for the state’s business climate and demand a renewed focus on job creation.

“Florida’s unemployment rate is ABOVE the national average and it’s only GROWING … Florida had one of the worst performing job markets over the past year. Our state needs to stay focused on adding private sector jobs and driving down cost of living — just like President (Donald) Trump is trying to do across the country,” he posted to X in April.

“Higher costs of living in Florida are driving people away from the state. That’s bad for Floridians, bad for business, and bad for everyone,” Scott posted the same month, responding to a Wall Street Journal report.

Scott maintains the outlook would brighten under Donalds.

“But when Byron’s there, jobs are going to flow to the state, ’cause he knows what it takes. We’re going to recruit companies. We’re going to make sure small businesses can succeed. We’re going to reduce the regulatory environment. Every time we can figure out a fee or a tax we can reduce, we’re gonna do that. And we’re going to support our law enforcement,” he said.

The remarks come as Florida’s unemployment rate sits at 4.7% — nearly a full percentage point higher than a year ago and half a point above the national average. Over the past 12 months, Florida is tied for 28th among states for job growth.

It’s a sharp contrast with the numbers Scott left behind. When he exited the Governor’s Mansion, Florida’s unemployment rate had fallen from more than 11% at the start of his tenure to 3.3% — below the national average of 3.7% at the time — and the state’s job growth rate had outpaced the nation’s in 79 of his final 80 months in office.

If elected, Donalds would face stiff headwinds in reversing the current trends, even with Scott’s endorsement behind him.

A legislative briefing last year from the Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) on the state’s long-term outlook projected job growth settling at just above 1% annually through the early 2030s, with an aging population expected to place additional pressure on the state’s economy.