Florida is expected to continue recovering this year, as tourism and health care continue to surge and as employment improves. According to a Wells Fargo Securities economist, there are a lot of good things happening in Florida, such as the drop in the unemployment rate and the increase in jobs.
The economist also theorized that home prices have bottomed in Florida and that the real estate market will soon start to recover, particularly the industrial and apartment markets.
Based on the latest numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Florida and 46 other states improved their employment situation in March this year. With nonfarm jobs in Florida rising by 51,500 from 7,153,800 jobs in March last year to 7,205,300 jobs in March this year, the state ranked eighth among the 50 states in job gains.
The ten states with the highest job gains were the following:
- Texas — 251,100 jobs
- California — 171,300
- Michigan — 79,000
- Illinois — 76,600
- Pennsylvania — 76,500
- Ohio — 65,700
- New York — 56,500
- Florida — 51,500
- Virginia — 37,000
- North Carolina — 36,500
Meanwhile, the ten states with the highest job growth rates were the following:
- North Dakota — 4.18%
- Vermont — 2.77%
- Texas — 2.44%
- Alaska — 2.39%
- Michigan — 2.39%
- Kentucky — 1.99%
- Oregon — 1.72%
- Utah — 1.62%
- Arkansas — 1.51%
- Illinois — 1.37%
Florida improved its job figures in all sectors except in the construction, financial services, manufacturing and government sectors. The following is a comparison of seasonally adjusted job numbers for March 2010 and March 2011:
Trade, transportation and utilities — up from 1,452,400 to 1,457,000
Government — down from 1,109,300 to 1,108,400
Education and health services — up from 1,075,400 to 1,095,500
Professional and business services — up from 1,029,400 to 1,042,300
Leisure and hospitality — up from 909,000 to 944,300
Financial services — down from 472,300 to 468,100
Construction — down from 347,600 to 332,900
Manufacturing — down from 307,800 to 306,500
Total — up from 7,153,800 to 7,205,300
The biggest increase, a rise of 35,300, occurred in the hospitality sector, as more tourists traveled to Florida and enjoy its good weather and white powdery beaches. Second was the health and education services sector with an increase of 20,100 jobs.
Florida’s total civilian workforce as of March 2011 was 9,251,000, an increase of 55,200 from 9,195,800 in March 2010. The number of unemployed Floridians dropped from 1,039,600 in March 2010 to 1,029,700 in March this year.