Florida’s unemployment rate for August was 10.7 percent, relatively unchanged from the revised July rate of 10.8 percent, but up 4.2 percent from a year ago. It is also 1 percentage point higher than the national average of 9.7 percent.

The rate represents 984,000 jobless out of a labor force of 9.1 million.

“The relative stability of Florida’s unemployment rate over the past few months is encouraging,” Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation Director Cynthia R. Lorenzo said in a news release. “We anticipate improvement in Florida’s job market in the second quarter of next year, and are already seeing glimmers of hope to that effect.”

Based on the Florida Economic Estimating Conference held in July, the state’s job market is expected to start improving in the second quarter of 2010 as the job growth rate turns positive.

However, Florida’s unemployment rate is expected to hit 11 percent before it starts to fall.

Miami-Dade County had the highest unemployment rate in the tri-county area, at 11.7 – holding steady from July, but up from 6.5 percent in August 2008.

Palm Beach County’s unemployment rate slipped to 11.3 percent – down from 11.4 percent in July, but up from 7.6 percent a year ago.

Broward County fared the best, with an unemployment rate of 9.5 percent – down from 9.7 percent in July, but up from 6.1 percent a year ago.