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Letter to the editor

Hunt for jobs gets tougher

Florida's growing labor force, voluntary or not, must contend with fewer opportunities for work.

By HELEN HUNTLEY, Times Staff Writer
Published January 19, 2008

Finding a job in Florida is the toughest it has been in three years. State officials said Friday that Florida's unemployment rate jumped to 4.7 percent in December from 4.3 percent in November.

The basic problem: a slowdown in job creation. The economy is creating jobs, but not enough to keep up with growth in the labor force and to offset job losses in construction, manufacturing and publishing.

Job growth peaked in September 2005 at 5.2 percent, back when Florida's job boom was the envy of the nation. Last month, job growth was just a tenth of 1 percent over November and 1.1 percent over December 2006. That's the slowest in four years.

That adds up to tough times for job hunters, especially those looking for work in industries that are shedding jobs.

"I went over to a road construction site in Tampa on I-275 and was told they had 200 applicants," said Carlos Greene, 46, a now-homeless construction worker. He helped build the Progress Energy headquarters in St. Petersburg and lost his job in November when the work was finished. "At this point you're only going to get hired if you hear about a job through word of mouth."

But even those looking for professional jobs say they are finding the search challenging.

"There's a lot of competition for the few jobs there are," said Jim Maloy, 32, of Tampa. He lost his job as a product analyst for a financial services company at the beginning of this month. The only bright side: He hopes to earn certification as a project manager with the help of federal job training funds, helping him qualify for a better job than the one he left.

A monthly survey of Florida workers conducted by Harris Interactive shows worker confidence dropped last month to its lowest level in three years.

The Spherion Employment Report found about half of Florida workers believe there are fewer jobs available. Although 47 percent said they are confident they could find a new job, this was a decline of 15 percentage points since November.

Spherion, a recruiting and staffing company, said workers with the right skills will continue to find good opportunities. However, many workers say they are having a tough time finding the right match.

"It's rough," said Jodi Boord, 29, of St. Petersburg, who has worked for nonprofit organizations. "I'm not entry-level any more, yet I don't have enough management experience to break into management. I keep hearing that the unemployment rate is low, but it doesn't seem that way."

What can get lost in the equation is that 4.7 percent is below the national rate of 5 percent and is a low unemployment rate for Florida by historical standards. Unemployment in the state rose as high as 8.9 percent in the early 1990s and was even higher in the mid 1970s.

Among the areas in which jobs are continuing to grow at an above-average rate are education, health care, accounting and tax preparation, computer systems design, electronics stores, amusement parks and recreation.

Times staff writer Kris Hundley contributed to this report.

Helen Huntley can be reached at hhuntley@sptimes.com or 727 893-8230.

[Last modified January 18, 2008, 23:08:58]