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State's Jobless Ranks Spike

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By MICHAEL SASSO

msasso@tampatrib.com

Published: December 20, 2008

TAMPA - Florida's unemployment rate jumped to a 15-year high last month, rising to 7.3 percent, and the state's job losses are increasingly being felt outside of the hard-hit construction industry.

The number of unemployed Floridians rose to an estimated 680,000 in November, or 7.3 percent of the state's labor force of 9.3 million. The unemployment rate had been 7 percent in October, and it was just 4.4 percent in November 2007 on a seasonally adjusted basis. Florida's jobless rate is higher than the overall U.S. rate of 6.7 percent.

The last time Florida's rate was so high was June 1993, the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation said.

Locally, the unemployment rate in Hillsborough County rose to 7.4 percent in November, up from 7.1 percent in October and 4.3 percent in November 2007. Pinellas County's jobless rate was 7.5 percent last month, up from 7.1 percent in October and 4.3 percent a year ago. Pasco County's rate rose to 8.9 percent from 8.4 percent in October and 5.3 percent a year ago.

The construction industry continues to shed jobs, but it appears other industries are sharing a bigger portion of the job losses as the recession spreads around the economy. Between November 2007 and last month, construction jobs accounted for 32.5 percent of all jobs lost in the state. That ratio is dropping. For example, between October 2007 and October of this year, construction losses made up 40 percent of all job losses in Florida.

In May, construction losses accounted for 54 percent of all job losses in the state, state figures showed. Industries losing significant jobs over the past year include: employment services, down 12.3 percent; department stores, down 9.9 percent; and automobile dealers, down 8 percent. The leisure and hospitality industry had its first year-over-year job losses since 2002; the industry that includes hotels, restaurants and amusement parks shed 0.4 percent of its jobs.

Two holdouts that continue to add jobs are education and health services. Over the year, employment at educational services, such as schools, rose 3.8 percent. The health care and social assistance industry added 4 percent more jobs, state figures show.

Reporter Michael Sasso can be reached at (813) 259-7865.

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