INTERACTIVE: Sarasota’s unemployment rate dips below 5%

The unemployment rate in Sarasota County in September dipped below 5% for the first time in more than eight years, according to preliminary data released by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity this morning.

Sarasota County outpaced the state, Manatee and Charlotte counties with a 4.9% unemployment rate last month, including the addition of roughly 800 new jobs. Sarasota had the 20th lowest jobless rate out of Florida’s 67 counties during the period.

See below for an interactive map of unemployment rates across the state. Click the map to remove highlight of Sarasota.

The last time the county’s unemployment rate fell below 5% was in June of 2007, which was about six months before the recession. At the height of the downturn, local unemployment eclipsed 12%.

Though the data show a solid economic recovery, the picture isn’t completely positive. There were about 800 fewer individuals looking for work within Sarasota County in September compared to the same month in 2014. And uncertainty remains about the global economy and the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise interest rates.