Dec. 20--Florida's unemployment rose in November to 7.3 percent of the work force, as 680,000 residents were without jobs, the state said Friday.

The jobless rate last month, up from a revised 7.1 percent in October, is the state's highest since June 1993. It matches the 15-year high in October, according to Florida's Agency for Workforce Innovation.

South Florida's unemployment also reached levels not seen in more than a decade, making the holiday season an especially difficult time for many people. The three-county region lost 59,300 jobs since November a year ago.

This should be a joyous time for Dominic De Cayette, 44, and his wife Elizabeth. Married in February, the Plantation couple is expecting their first child in March. Instead, the De Cayettes are struggling with bills because he lost his job in September and she's not working. They've already had to drop health insurance to make ends meet.

"It's stress all around," said De Cayette, formerly a financial analyst with Ryder Systems in Miami. He worries: "Is the kid going to have a roof over his head when he comes into the world?"

Broward County Click here for restaurant inspection reports's jobless rate increased to 6.6 percent in November, from 6.3 percent in October and 3.9 percent a year ago. The county's unemployment hasn't been that high since November 1993.

Palm Beach County's rate hit 7.6 percent in November, up from 7.5 percent the month before and 4.6 percent a year ago. It's the county's highest jobless level since November 1994 when unemployment was 8.2 percent.

Miami-Dade County fared better than its neighbors to the north with 5.5 percent unemployment last month. But that won't last into next year, said Antonio Villamil, economist with Washington Economics Group in Coral Gables.

Miami-Dade and Broward counties have benefited from a strong international economy, including exports and international tourism, Villamil said. The recession is likely spreading to Latin America, he said.

Unlike the state jobless rate, the county rates are not adjusted for seasonal employment fluctuation.

"There's nothing cheery," about Florida's unemployment forecast, said Bruce Nissen, an economist at Florida International University. In 2009, he's expecting "more of the same and quite a bit worse."

Nissen said Florida's economy, built on real estate development and construction, "makes us uniquely in bad shape for this downturn." Only the state's health care and education sectors added jobs in November.

"There are so many unemployed we're all competing for the same jobs," said Raquel Alderman, 41, who lost her marketing job at TheMiami Herald last summer.

Fewer presents will be under the Christmas tree in her Coral Springs home. "We're cutting back on holiday spending on each other," said Alderman, who with her husband has two children, ages 7 and 11. "It's really for the kids."

Ted Oziminski, 76, of Davie, got laid off from his condominium security job in October. He hopes to land a part-time job. Though he collects Social Security, "it's not enough to live on," he said. "That's why I kept right on working."

Andrew Plug, 30, who got laid off from his computer technology job earlier this year, said he lost his Hollywood house to foreclosure and has moved in with his parents in Deerfield Beach.

"I'll take anything. Whatever I can do to make money," Plug said.

Marcia Heroux Pounds can be reached at mpounds@SunSentinel.com or 561-243-6650.

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