Florida continues to be among the leading states in terms of job creation as we head into the second half of 2016.1 Over the past year, Florida’s total non-farm employment has grown 3.03 percent, the state has added approximately 244,500 non-farm jobs,2 and Florida’s overall employment is among the highest in the state’s history.3 Florida’s unemployment rate has also steadily declined over the past year, dropping from 5.3 percent in June of 2015 to 4.7 percent in June of 2016.4 The Sunshine State was also recently ranked 3rd among “States with the Fastest Job Growth,”5 which highlighted growth in the fields of professional and business services, tourism, and health care as reasons to be optimistic about the future of Florida’s job market.
Gains by Month
Job gains were fairly strong month-to-month over the past year, averaging almost 19,000 jobs.6 Florida added 113,000 non-farm jobs through the first six months of 2016,7 led by a two month stretch from April 2016 through May 2016 when the state’s Non-Farm Employment grew by 61,900.8
Gains by Industry
Continuing last year’s trend,9 all major non-farm industries in Florida, except for Information, experienced growth in terms of employment. Over the past year, Professional and Business Services led the state’s major industries in job growth, adding 48,400 jobs.10The state also experienced strong growth in Education and Health Services, Leisure and Hospitality, and Construction, which are all projected to continue to grow.
| Job Creation by Major Industries Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics // Seasonally Adjusted, in thousands of jobs |
|||
| Industry | June ‘15 | June ‘16 | Job Gains (Losses) |
| Professional and Business Services | 1,217.4 | 1,265.8 | 48.4 |
| Education and Health Services | 1,196.6 | 1,240.1 | 43.5 |
| Leisure and Hospitality | 1,126.8 | 1,169.2 | 42.4 |
| Construction | 428.6 | 454.1 | 25.5 |
| Retail Trade | 1,083.5 | 1,103.6 | 20.1 |
| Financial Activities | 533.6 | 552.1 | 18.5 |
| Government | 1,079.6 | 1,097.2 | 17.6 |
| Manufacturing | 342.2 | 353.5 | 11.3 |
| Transportation and Utilities | 264.7 | 274.2 | 9.5 |
| Wholesale Trade | 334.6 | 340.9 | 6.3 |
| Other Services | 331.0 | 334.5 | 3.5 |
| Information | 135.5 | 133.5 | (2.0) |
1 Arizona State University and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Current State Rankings.
2 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusted data. Retrieved July 25th, 2016.
3 Ibid.
4 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics. July 2016.
5 Kiplinger. States with the Fastest Job Growth.
6 The average job growth by month for the first six months of 2016 using BLS seasonally adjusted data.
7 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusted data. Retrieved July 25th, 2016.
8 Ibid.
9 Florida TaxWatch. Florida’s 2015 Mid-Year Job Growth. July 2015.
10 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusted data. Retrieved July 25th, 2016.
» NEXT PAGE: Metropolitan Areas With Significant Growth
Metropolitan Areas with Significant Growth
"Florida’s 2016 Mid-Year Job Growth"
Florida’s success in adding jobs has been felt across the state as all metropolitan areas experienced job growth over the past year. Three of Florida’s most industrialized metropolitan areas, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater led the way in terms of job growth, each adding more than 40,000 jobs over the past year.11
The growth in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan statistical area (Tampa MSA) is noteworthy since the addition of nearly 41,000 jobs12 is up significantly from last year’s mid-year job growth report published by Florida TaxWatch, which showed that the Tampa MSA added 31,700 jobs,13 and the area was recently ranked first in job demand in the state of Florida by the Tampa Bay Business Journal.14 Coupled with the fact that the area has a relatively low unemployment rate of 4.6 percent,15 the Tampa MSA may continue to see strong job growth.
| Job Creation by Metropolitan Area Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics // Seasonally Adjusted, in thousands of jobs |
|||
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach | 2,505.5 | 2,569.3 | 63.8 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford | 1,155.0 | 1,205.1 | 50.1 |
| Jacksonville | 646.8 | 670.0 | 23.2 |
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers | 245.7 | 255.0 | 9.3 |
| North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton | 284.6 | 289.6 | 5.0 |
| Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island | 135.2 | 139.3 | 4.1 |
| Gainesville | 133.7 | 137.5 | 3.8 |
| Port St. Lucie | 137.0 | 139.9 | 2.9 |
| Ocala | 97.2 | 100.0 | 2.8 |
| Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville | 201.2 | 204.0 | 2.8 |
| Lakeland-Winter Haven | 208.4 | 210.9 | 2.5 |
| Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent | 166.7 | 169.0 | 2.3 |
| Punta Gorda | 45.6 | 46.9 | 1.3 |
| Sebastian-Vero Beach | 48.4 | 50.4 | 2.0 |
| Tallahassee | 172.7 | 176.0 | 3.3 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | 1,247.5 | 1,288.4 | 40.9 |
Conclusion
Like Florida, many states in the nation experienced strong job growth in the years following the Great Recession; however, many areas are now seeing growth stall out as they return to pre-recession employment levels. Florida’s continued success in adding jobs has helped the state push beyond pre-recession highs as Florida continues building a robust economy.
As we head into the second half of 2016, Florida’s job sector looks healthy. Florida’s total employment is among the highest in the state’s history and Florida’s Non-Farm Employment growth has been strong over the past year.
11 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusted data. Retrieved July 25th, 2016.
12 Ibid.
13 Florida TaxWatch. Florida’s 2015 Mid-Year Job Growth. July 2015.
14 Tampa Bay Business Journal. Tampa Bay region ranks second in job growth; first in job demand. April 15th, 2016.
15 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusted data. Retrieved July 25th, 2016.
Economic Commentary written by
Kyle Baltuch, MS, Economist
Robert Weissert, Executive VP & Counsel to the President & CEO
Robert D Cruz, Ph.D., Chief Economist
Chris Barry, Director of Publications
Michelle A. Robinson, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Florida TaxWatch
Sen. George LeMieux, Advisory Board Chairman, TaxWatch Center for Competitive Florida
Dominic M. Calabro, President, CEO, Publisher & Editor
Florida TaxWatch Research Institute, Inc.
www.floridataxwatch.org
Copyright © Florida TaxWatch, July 2016
