Florida led nation in job growth in Feb.
South Florida Business Journal - by Robin Londner
The numbers of jobs in Florida have grown for 11 months in a row, according to the latest data compiled by the state Agency for Workforce Innovation, which said Florida created slightly more than 109,000 jobs from February 2002 to February 2003.
At a 1.5 percent growth rate, Florida leads the country for new jobs created, the state said. Professional and business services led growth within Florida, at 36,500 jobs created from February 2002 to February 2003. The related sector of professional and technical services followed, adding 20,600 jobs in the same time period.
The South Florida cities of West Palm Beach-Boca Raton came in second in the state for job creation, at 16,600 jobs, or 3.2 percent growth, from February 2002 to February 2003. The only area to rank higher in job growth was Orlando, which added 16,700 jobs, or 1.9 percent growth.
In terms of counties, Broward reported a 5.6 percent, February 2003 unemployment rate, or 47,656 people unemployed of the 249,611-person labor force. The rate was half a percentage point lower than the same month the year before, when the county reported 51,968 people unemployed of an 849,254-person labor force.
Miami-Dade County reported a 7.3 percent, February 2003 unemployment rate, or 80,571 people unemployed of the 1.1 million-person labor force. The rate was .7 of a percentage point lower than the same month the year before, when the county reported 89,777 people unemployed of a 1.11 million-person labor force.
Palm Beach County reported a 5.1 percent, February 2003 unemployment rate, or 29,620 people unemployed of the 581,735-person labor force. The rate was half a percentage point lower than the same month the year before, when the county reported 31,841 people unemployed of a 570,450-person labor force.
The state's unemployment rate, which Gov. Jeb Bush put at 5.2 percent, is six-tenths of a percentage point lower than the national unemployment rate of 5.8 percent and half a percentage point lower than the February 2002 Florida rate. The state rate has trailed the national rate for 12 months, or since March 2002.
Of a civilian labor force of nearly 8.09 million people, there were 419,000 unemployed Floridians in February 2003. For the same period the year before, the state reported a labor force of nearly 8.07 million people, of which 456,000 were unemployed.
"Florida's ability to create new jobs in uncertain economic times is remarkable and has been unmatched by any other state for nearly a year," Bush said. "Certainly, the resiliency of our economy will serve as a distinct advantage once the national economy fully recovers."
Economists have credited a more diverse state economy for Florida's ability to weather the downturn, but have also said Florida's tourist-dependency - usually a negative in poor economies - may be a benefit, as Americans may be willing to vacation within the country, but not abroad. In fact, Florida's leisure and hospitality industry created 24,400 jobs, or 3 percent growth, from February 2002 to February 2003, the fourth-largest growth among state industries. Of those jobs, the state said accommodation and food services created the most jobs - 15,200 jobs, or a 2.4 percent increase.
Gov. Bush outlined three efforts he said will further help diversify the economy and help the Florida economy: securing the permanent secretariat of the Free Trade Area of the Americas in Miami; protecting the state's military installations from the proposed 2005 round of federal base realignments and closures; and fostering development of emerging technologies, in part, at state university technology centers.
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