The number of non-farm employees in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area rose from 1,129,400 to 1,149,600 year-over-year in March 2012, making the growth in Tampa jobs the second biggest increase among Florida’s metro areas, based on data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Additionally, the number of employees doing nonfarm Tampa jobs as of March 2012 was also the second biggest. The Tampa area had 1,149,600 nonfarm employees, second only to the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metro area’s 2,252,200 nonfarm employees.
Here are the 8 metro areas in Florida with the biggest number of nonfarm employees as of March 2012:
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach | 2,252,200 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | 1,149,600 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford | 1,020,000 |
| Jacksonville | 593,300 |
| North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota | 244,500 |
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers | 205,900 |
| Lakeland-Winter Haven | 195,500 |
| Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville | 194,400 |
The 6 metro areas in Florida with the biggest year-over-year numerical increase in nonfarm employees in March 2012 were the following, together with their numerical increases:
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach | 32,200 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | 20,200 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford | 8,600 |
| Naples-Marco Island | 2,300 |
| North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota | 2,300 |
| Sebastian-Vero Beach | 2,300 |
Based on rate of increase in number of nonfarm employees, the 5 top metro areas in March 2012 were the following:
5.1 % Sebastian-Vero Beach
2.2 % Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin
2.0 % Naples-Marco Island
1.8 % Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
1.5 % Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach
Tampa jobs as of March 2012 accounted for 15.6 percent of Florida’s nonfarm jobs. The only percentage higher than this number was that of Miami which was 30.5 percent. Following Miami and Tampa on third place was Orlando area which accounted for 13.8 percent.
Career change, job relocation and job hunt — these are three of the more common reasons for coming to Tampa and for buying a home. Indeed, the growing number of Tampa jobs is great news for the Tampa real estate market.