stpetetimes.com
Unemployment at record low
The latest jobless rate was 3.3 percent in a state that is top among the most populous states for job growth.
By KRIS HUNDLEY, Times Staff Writer
Published January 21, 2006
At HOK Architects in Tampa, Duncan Broyd is searching for three or four architects and designers. And Jim McGlashan, general manager of Westin Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, needs housekeepers and stewards.
From professional to blue collar, Florida's labor pool is being tapped to the max as the state posts record low unemployment levels.
In December, the jobless rate statewide hit 3.3 percent, the lowest since the current reporting system began in January 1976. That's down from last month's 3.6 percent and well below the year-ago figure of 4.6 percent.
Such a feat is particularly impressive considering Florida's dramatic population growth last year, said senior economist Mark Vitner of Wachovia Corp.
"It's truly amazing unemployment has gotten this low in Florida when the population is growing as fast as it is," Vitner said.
Migration to the state in 2005 was the highest ever, topping the Mariel influx in 1980, he said.
"And the folks who came last year had more money in their pocket."
As it has been since mid 2002, Florida also ranked well below the national unemployment rate of 4.9 percent in December.
In a tight statewide market, the Tampa Bay area was even tighter in December, dipping below 3 percent. Last month, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater posted an unemployment rate of 2.9 percent, down from 4.3 percent a year ago.
The Tampa Bay area also came in third statewide in job creation over the past year, generating 32,400 new positions. Along with the Miami metro area, which led the state in new jobs, and second-place Orlando, the three cities accounted for more than half of Florida's total job growth.
New positions are being created statewide in a broad range of categories. Professional and business services lead the pack, followed by retailing, tourism, health and education. Even manufacturing showed an upswing, adding more than 5,000 jobs in Florida last year. Industries to avoid: telecommunications and mining, both of which lost employment in 2005.
As of November, the latest month for which data are available, Florida was top among the 10 most populous states in the rate of job growth and number of new jobs. Florida's job growth rate of 3.4 percent was nearly twice that of its nearest contender, Georgia. Michigan, meanwhile, is the only one of the top 10 most populous states to lose jobs.
Scott Brown, chief economist for Raymond James & Associates in St. Petersburg, said the current job boom is similar to what was seen in the late 1990s. "And it's a very diverse economy in Florida, not just tourism," he said.
And because the state continues to attract newcomers, he does not see low unemployment resulting in higher wages.
"That's the big fear for the Fed on the national level," Brown said. "But even in Florida, where employers may have trouble finding people, as yet they're not willing to pay up."
McGlashan at Westin Innisbrook said the resort has raised wages for several positions, though hard-to-fill housekeeping jobs still pay from minimum wage to $8 an hour, plus incentives.
HOK senior vice president Broyd, who is looking for everything from entry-level support staff to experienced architects, said the tight market threatens to set off a round of salary inflation.
"People are starting to ask for enormous salaries," he said. "They can always ask."
bankdersysrisk.blogspot.com
The Central Banks have called for a crusade of liquidity with the mantra "give loans to anyone who asks for it". Flood the cities of world with newly created money and the populous shall compete with each other over property. Using leveraged money to bid up the property, the seller walks away and buys another home which he then bids up. So the circle of abundant cash following limited assets begins.
The circle injects money into the building industry, new homes are built, fortunes are created. People become employed in the mortgage, construction, and other related fields. The people rejoice at the miracle of their new found prosperity. Housing valuations go up and increased taxes are collected.
But something is amiss. Rents remain the same or lower as housing prices ascend into the realm of the heavens. It becomes much cheaper to rent than to buy. Some of the foolish mortals not in hallowed halls of the Central Banks begin to wonder "Where is all this demand for housing coming from?" |
