Florida’s March Employment Figures Released

Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for March 2010 is 12.3 percent. This represents 1,138,000 jobless out of a labor force of 9,269,000. The unemployment rate is up marginally from the
February revised rate of 12.2 percent, and up 2.7 percentage points from the March 2009 rate of 9.6 percent.

March’s unemployment rate is the highest in the recorded series going back to 1970. Florida’s unemployment rate remains higher than the national rate, which is 9.7 percent in March.
Florida’s total nonagricultural employment in March 2010 is 7,181,000, representing a loss of 4,000 jobs (-0.1 percent) over the month and a job loss of 149,600 jobs, or -2.0 percent, compared to March 2009.

Florida’s rate of job decline is steeper than the national rate of decline for March which is -1.8 percent over the year. Florida’s annual rate of job loss continues to moderate with the -2.0 percent in March 2010 compared to last month’s revised rate of -2.7 percent. The steepest rate of decline in Florida was -6.9 percent in March 2009. Florida job postings compiled by the Help Wanted OnLine data series from The Conference Board totaled 232,200 ads, up 10.4 percent from February. This is the largest over-the-month gain since the series began in 2005. Florida’s over-the-month increase in job demand in March is the largest of the ten most populous states.

“We remain dedicated to serving the people and businesses of Florida as our nation emerges from this recession,” said Agency for Workforce Innovation Director Cynthia R. Lorenzo. “Florida’s job market continues to show signs of improvement with job losses moderating and new job listings increasing. We continue to see encouraging indicators that Florida’s economy is on the road to recovery.”

Efforts to Create Jobs and Stimulate Florida’s Economy
Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment (REA) Grant Award Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that Florida will receive a $7.31 million federal grant award which the Agency for Workforce Innovation applied for to provide enhanced reemployment and eligibility evaluations for those receiving unemployment benefits. Staff in statewide one-stop career centers will conduct in-person reviews to determine which services and training are appropriate for each worker. Each worker receives an individual work-search plan using labor market information for a targeted job search. The grant award follows a similar grant Florida received last year for $3 million.

Florida Back to Work
Since funds were made available to Florida on March 17 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, almost 500 employers from around the state have signed agreements to hire workers through the
Florida Back to Work initiative, which provides reimbursement for up to 95% of an eligible employee’s salary. More than 5,500 job openings have been posted and nearly 812 employees are already on the job. The program
is expected to provide 10,000 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs over the next six months. For more information on worker eligibility requirements, visit www.floridajobs.org or search job openings on the Employ Florida Marketplace at www.employflorida.com.

Census Hiring Impact
The Census Bureau, as part of the 2010 count of U.S. residents, is hiring thousands of employees between now and September to assist with the count in Florida. Up to 63,700 Floridians will work during the next six months to ensure an accurate count so that Floridians receive their fair share of funding and representation in Washington, Agency for Workforce Innovation www.floridajobs.org Census job openings, both full and part-time, are posted in the Employ Florida Marketplace at www.employflorida.com.

Toll Road Construction
On April 9, Governor Charlie Crist announced the groundbreaking of the I-4/Selmon Expressway Connector in Hillsborough County. The $390 million construction project will create thousands of jobs and improve
transportation options in the Tampa Bay area. To learn more visit www.mytbi.com/home/ and click on I-4.

Jobs Grants
The U.S. Department of Commerce awarded $9.3 million in grants April 9 to create jobs in Florida. The Economic Development Administration grants are slated for a group of projects expected to create more than 500 jobs and spur millions in private investment throughout the state. Details on the grant awards can be found at www.eda.gov/NewsEvents/PressReleases/FLcombo040710.

Florida’s Nonagricultural Employment by Industry (Seasonally Adjusted)

• The number of jobs in Florida is 7,181,000 in March 2010, down 149,600 compared to a year ago. The industry losing the most jobs is construction (-57,000 jobs, -13.7 percent).

• Other industries losing jobs over the year include: leisure and hospitality (-28,800 jobs, -3.1 percent); manufacturing (-26,100 jobs, -7.8 percent); financial activities (-24,600 jobs, -5.0 percent); trade,transportation, and utilities (-22,600 jobs, -1.5 percent); information (-13,300 jobs, -9.1 percent); professional and business services (-5,800 jobs, -0.6 percent); other services (-2,900 jobs, -0.9 percent); and government (-1,400 jobs, -0.1 percent).

• These industry job losses are partially due to weakness in specialty trade contractors; food services and drinking places; fabricated metal product manufacturing; credit intermediation; merchant wholesalers (durable goods); telecommunications; accounting, tax preparation, and bookkeeping; repair and maintenance; and local government.

• Private education and health services (+33,000 jobs, +3.1 percent) is the only sector gaining jobs among Florida’s major industries. Most of the increase is due to health care and social assistance (+27,300 jobs, +3.0 percent), primarily in ambulatory health care services. Private education increased by 5,700 jobs (+4.1 percent) over the year.

Local Area Unemployment Statistics (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

• In March 2010, Liberty County has the state’s lowest unemployment rate (7.3 percent), followed by Monroe County (7.7 percent), Leon County (8.2 percent), and Alachua County (8.4 percent). Many of the counties with the lowest unemployment rates are those with relatively high proportions of government employment.

• Flagler County (16.6 percent) has the highest unemployment rate in Florida in March 2010, followed by Hernando County (15.1 percent); Marion County (15.0 percent); St. Lucie County (14. 6 percent); and Hendry County (14.1 percent). The counties with the highest unemployment rates in the state experienced continued weakness in construction, manufacturing, and financial activities. There are 52 Florida counties with double-digit unemployment rates in March, down from 55 the previous month.

Area Nonagricultural Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

• All metro areas in the state except two lose jobs over the year in March 2010. The Pensacola-Ferry Pass- Brent metro area gains 400 jobs (+0.3 percent) and the Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach metro area gains 100 jobs (+0.1 percent) over the year. Metro areas with the steepest declines include Sebastian- Vero Beach (-5.2 percent, -2,400 jobs); Naples-Marco Island (-5.1 percent, -6,000 jobs); Ocala (-4.7 percent, -4,500 jobs); and Punta Gorda (-4.6 percent, -1,900 jobs).

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Posted by Andrea Freygang on Apr 16 2010. Filed under Broward County, Employment, Fort Lauderdale, Local news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.