These are the highest numbers in 16 years. 

St. Johns, Clay and Nassau Counties all report unemployment rates over 7.5%.

Flagler County leads the entire state with more than 14% of the county residents out of work.

There are jobs available:  130,000 through the state marketplace.

Find the job opportunities here.

Here is a detailed breakdown of the unemployment numbers from January 2009:

State of Florida:  8.6%
Duval County:  8.8%
Clay County:  8.2%
St. Johns:  7.6%
Nassau:  8.5%
Flagler:  14.2%

Here is the official news release from the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation:

TALLAHASSEE - Florida's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January 2009 is 8.6 percent. This represents 800,000 jobless out of a labor force of 9,256,000. The unemployment rate is 1.0 percentage point higher than the revised December rate of 7.6 percent and is up 3.6 percentage points from the January 2008 rate. The state's current unemployment rate is 1.0 percentage point higher than the national unemployment rate of 7.6 percent.

Florida's January 2009 unemployment rate is the highest since September 1992, when the rate was 8.9 percent. Prior to 1992, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Florida using the current methodology peaked at 9.7 percent in January, February, and March of 1976. A different methodology was used to calculate unemployment rates prior to 1976; during that time, the rate reached a high of 11.9 percent in May 1975.

Florida's total nonagricultural employment in January 2009 is 7,557,700, representing a job loss of 355,700, or -4.5 percent compared to January 2008. This is slower than the national rate for January which is -2.5 percent. The January 2009 rate of job loss continues the trend of over-the-year declines that began in August 2007 primarily due to declines in construction jobs.

Floridians are encouraged to utilize Employ Florida Marketplace, the state's powerful online labor exchange tool that provides employers, job seekers, students, training providers and workforce professionals with comprehensive and convenient workforce services at no cost. Employers can post job openings and job seekers can post resumes at www.employflorida.com. Employ Florida Marketplace currently lists nearly 130,000 job opportunities in Florida.

"Governor Crist has emphasized job creation and stimulating Florida's economy by developing budget priorities that focus on these principles and translate federal stimulus dollars into action," said Agency Interim Director Cynthia R. Lorenzo. "We are working diligently to ensure federal stimulus funds are distributed quickly to have significant impact on increasing benefits and enhancing our services to Floridians. We are also working diligently to ensure our state and business partners are posting job openings on the Employ Florida Marketplace website."

Governor Crist and Lt. Governor Kottkamp last month unveiled their budget priorities for Fiscal Year 2009-10 as well as recommendations for the use of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. The Governor's recommendations will enhance efforts to expand services for Florida's Unemployment Compensation recipients, ensure educational success for Florida's children through quality early learning programs and keep Florida's workforce competitive. According to information released by the White House, the economic stimulus funding will create or retain 206,000 jobs in Florida over three years.

The Governor's recommendations include:
Keeping Florida's workforce competitive - Governor Crist recommends using nearly $77.8 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds in Fiscal Year 2009-2010 to match job seekers with Florida businesses and train workers for opportunities created by the federal stimulus package. This recommendation includes nearly $37 million to assist dislocated workers and $21 million for youth work programs.

The Governor's recommendations also include the immediate infusion of nearly $81 million in federal stimulus funds for the current fiscal year, 2008-2009, to match job seekers with Florida businesses and train workers for opportunities created by the federal stimulus package.

Helping working families stay in the workforce and ensuring educational success of Florida's children - The Governor's budget proposal includes increased funding for the state's free Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) program, now in its fourth year. The Governor is requesting an additional $22.7 million to maintain the current per-student allocation for the anticipated growth in enrollment.

Governor Crist has also requested $3 million to restore funding for Florida's School Readiness Program. The restoration of funding will allow Florida to qualify for $105 million in federal stimulus funds for eligible parents to receive state-assisted quality child care so they can work. Governor Crist recommends using $51.6 million of the $105 million for these school readiness services in Fiscal Year 2009-2010, and an immediate infusion of $53.7 million for school readiness services in Fiscal Year 2008-2009. School Readiness, which creates one job for every 12 children served, is expected to create or retain nearly 15,000 jobs for the child-care providers that allow families to remain in the workforce and achieve financial self-sufficiency.

Enhancing Services for Florida's Unemployment Compensation Recipients - Governor Crist signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor to increase weekly unemployment benefits by $25 per week. The agreement is expected to bring an additional $345 million to Florida during the 2009 calendar year. The additional $25 per week will be received automatically by eligible recipients and was effective February 22. Claimants will begin receiving the additional $25 by the end of March. This additional benefit is exclusively federally funded and does not obligate state governments or employers beyond the end of the stimulus package.

In addition, Governor Crist recommends using nearly $32 million in federal stimulus funds over the next two years for administrative and operational enhancements to meet the increased demand for the Agency's Unemployment Compensation services. Included in this proposal is a request for authorization to use $2 million in federal funds to modernize the unemployment compensation system mainframe.

To view the Governor's proposed 2009-10 budget, please visit www.ThePeoplesBudget.state.fl.us.

Florida's workforce system provides critical programs and services to job seekers and businesses alike. Such services offered throughout the state include:

"One-Stop Career Centers - Florida's nearly 90 One-Stop Career Centers, locally operated by Regional Workforce Boards, provide local access to job placement services, local workforce information and job training opportunities. Follow this link for a Map of Florida One-Stop Career Centers. (http://www.floridajobs.org/onestop/onestopdir/index.htm)

"Employ Florida Marketplace - The Employ Florida Marketplace Online Job Bank provides 24/7 access to a wide variety of local, state and national job openings. Follow this link to access the Employ Florida Marketplace. (http://www.employflorida.com/)

"Mobile One-Stop Career Centers - Florida's Mobile One-Stop Career Centers allow citizens in rural areas, at job fairs and during emergency situations to access critical workforce information and services.

"Labor Market Information - The Agency for Workforce Innovation's Labor Market Statistics Center produces data, such as employment, unemployment and wage information, that assist workforce/economic development, education, employers and job seekers. These statistics assist with economic analysis, business recruitment, career counseling and other critical business decision-making. Follow this link for information about the Agency's Labor Market Statistics Center. (http://www.labormarketinfo.com/.)

"Work Opportunity Tax Credit - The Work Opportunity Tax Credit offers a financial incentive to private, for-profit employers to hire individuals from certain targeted groups, who experience high rates of unemployment due to a variety of employment barriers. Follow this link for information about the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.