Florida job expansion took a stutter step in June in Lee and Charlotte counties after a quarter of remarkable growth.

Lee County's jobless rate rose from 12.5 percent in May to 13 percent in June - still a full percentage point below the record-worst 14 percent jobless rate in February and not far from the 12.6 percent recorded in June 2009.

Charlotte County lost its gains from a month ago by rising to 12.4 percent unemployment in June from 12 percent in May. Charlotte County unemployment stood at 11.7 percent a year ago.

Lee County lost 3,362 jobs in June for a total of 240,294 employed - a loss of roughly half the 6,000 positions filled over the previous three months. It's still 3,883 jobs under year-ago totals.

Charlotte County lost 720 jobs with 60,325 people at work in June compared with 61,045 a month earlier. It's now only 289 jobs under year-ago totals.

Hendry County had the state's highest unemployment at 16.1 percent with Lee coming in at No. 10 among all 67 counties and Charlotte at No. 16.

Florida's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June 2010 is 11.4 percent, or 1.056 million jobless out of a labor force of 9.237 million. The unemployment rate is down 0.3 percentage

point from the May rate of 11.7 percent - the third consecutive monthly decline in state unemployment to the lowest rate since October 2009.

"This continuing decline in Florida's unemployment rate is another strong indication that our economy is improving," said Workforce Director Cynthia Lorenzo.

Florida's jobless rate peaked at 12.3 percent in March - the worst reading in 40 years of recorded history.

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