Brevard County Adds 1,736 Jobs in February

By  //  March 31, 2014

Statewide Figures Show 32,000 New Private Sector Jobs

ABOVE VIDEO: Governor Rick Scott announces Florida’s employment numbers for the month 0f February 2010.

TALLAHASSEE – Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in February 2014, unchanged from the January 2014 revised rate, and down 1.7 percentage points from 7.9 percent a year ago.

hiring-sliderThe number of employed Brevard residents grew from 242,778 in January, 2014 to 244,514 in February 2014, with the labor force also growing from 261,113 to  262,2991, keeping the unemployment rate staying 7%. The state’s February rate was the lowest since June 2008 when it was 6.0 percent. There were 588,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of 9,515,000. The U.S. unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in February.

Florida’s unemployment rate was 0.5 percentage point lower than the U.S. rate and was below the national rate for the seventh consecutive month.

Florida’s seasonally adjusted total nonagricultural employment was 7,718,500 in February 2014, an increase of 33,400 jobs (+0.4 percent) over the month. Compared to February a year ago, the number of jobs in the state was up by 211,500, an increase of 2.8 percent. Nationally, the number of jobs was up 1.6 percent over the year. Florida’s annual job growth rate has exceeded or been equal to the nation’s rate since March 2012.

Florida’s Nonagricultural Employment by Industry (Seasonally Adjusted)

• The number of jobs in Florida was 7,718,500 in February 2014, up 211,500 jobs compared to a year ago. February
2014 was the 43rd consecutive month with positive annual job growth after the state lost jobs for over three years.
The industry gaining the most jobs was trade, transportation, and utilities (+48,400 jobs, +3.1 percent).

• Other industries gaining jobs included professional and business services (+47,900 jobs, +4.3 percent); construction
(+39,200 jobs, +11.0 percent); leisure and hospitality (+35,700 jobs, +3.5 percent); private education and health
services (+15,400 jobs, +1.4 percent); financial activities (+12,300 jobs, +2.4 percent); manufacturing (+8,600 jobs,
+2.7 percent); other services (+3,000 jobs, +1.0 percent); and information (+2,000 jobs, +1.5 percent).

• These industry job gains were partially due to increases in food and beverage stores; services to buildings and
dwellings; specialty trade contractors; food services and drinking places; ambulatory health care services; insurance
carriers and related activities; fabricated metal product manufacturing; personal and laundry services; and
telecommunications.

• Total government (-1,000 jobs, -0.1 percent) lost jobs over the year. These losses were partially due to federal and state government.

Local Area Unemployment Statistics (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

• In February 2014, Monroe County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate (3.8 percent), followed by Walton County (4.2 percent); Alachua and Okaloosa counties (5.0 percent each); and Bradford and St. Johns counties (5.2 percent each). Many of the counties with the lowest unemployment rates were those with relatively high proportions of government employment.

• Hendry County had the highest unemployment rate (9.8 percent) in Florida in February 2014, followed by Flagler County (9.4 percent); Hamilton County (9.0 percent); and Hernando, Madison, and Putnam counties (8.6 percent each). Hendry’s high rate was mainly due to long-term job losses in government employment. There were no counties with double-digit unemployment rates for February or January.

Area Nonagricultural Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

• All of the 22 metro areas in the state had over-the-year job gains in February 2014. The areas with the largest gains were Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford (+37,400 jobs, +3.6 percent), Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall (+30,400 jobs, +2.9 percent), and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (+29,600 jobs, +2.5 percent).

  • Florida is running a trade surplus of over $18 billion – with $90.4 billion in exports and $71.8 billion in imports in 2012, up from $86.8 billion in exports in 2011 and $62.4 billion in imports in 2011.

Workforce Boards Assisting in Employment

  • In February, Florida’s 24 Regional Workforce Boards reported more than 37,900 Floridians were placed in jobs. An individual who receives employment and training assistance through a One-Stop Career Center and finds a job within 180 days is deemed a placement and may be reported by a regional workforce board. Of these individuals, 9,620 previously received Reemployment Assistance.
  • In 2013, more than 479,000 Floridians were placed in jobs, with 135,384 former claimants finding employment.