My Recruiting Blog

Although the local economy is slowly recovering from the economic downturn, job openings in Tampa Florida are still hard to come by.

During January, the Tampa area's unemployment rate increased from 12 percent to 12.4 percent, after dropping from 12.7 percent during December 2010. That increase keeps the area's rate well above the national average at the time of 9 percent.

The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area employed about 1,109,300 workers during January, which is down from 1,122,300 workers during December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, that's still a .3 percent increase from last year.

Every industry lost jobs during January, with the exception of mining and logging, which held steady with 400 workers. The trade, transportation, and utilities industry saw the biggest drop in employment, losing 4,900 jobs over the month.

Other industries that saw an over-the-month decrease in employment include:

• Professional and business services - 2,500 jobs
• Education and health services - 1,800 jobs
• Construction - 1,300 jobs
• Other services - 800 jobs
• Leisure and hospitality - 700 jobs
• Manufacturing - 400 jobs
• Government - 300 jobs
• Information - 200 jobs
• Financial activities - 100 jobs

When compared to last year, however, five industries managed to see an increase in employment. The education and health services industry experienced the biggest growth, increasing by 2.6 percent between January 2010 and January 2011.

In addition, the leisure and hospitality industry grew by 1.3 percent, while the professional and business services industry increased by 1.1 percent; the government industry grew by .5 percent; and the trade, transportation, and utilities industry increased by .3 percent.

Labels: Job openings in Tampa Florida