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Florida TaxWatch Economic Commentary
Florida's 2016 Mid-Year Job 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 |
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| 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
