According to the Friday report of Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, the state's unemployment rate for the month of April dropped to 9.6 percent from the seasonally-adjusted March unemployment rate of 9.8 percent - thereby indicating a fall of two-tenths of a percentage point!

Commenting on the fall in the jobless rate in the state, University of North Florida economist Paul Mason said that the fact the rate is down even after adjusting for seasonality, is a good sign.

In fact, the fall in jobless rates in the Florida hints at the likelihood of the state's job market nearing a bottom, with even the federal government saying that, during April, the loss of jobs in the state was not too significant.

Addressing business leaders in downtown Miami on Friday, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said: "For the first time in a very long time, unemployment has gone down in Florida. I don't know if it's the start of something significant, but it sure is better to have unemployment going down in the state instead of up."

However, it is too early to say whether the figures have turned better for good, of whether they result from a mere pause in the economy's deterioration - with the economic news having explicitly moved from 'generally bad' to a 'combination of bad and hopeful', in the recent months!