TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Unemployment Surges In Florida, Tampa Area

ADVERTISEMENT

By MICHAEL SASSO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 23, 2009

TAMPA - The unemployment rate in the Tampa Bay area and statewide surged last month, cracking the 8-percent level and representing the highest jobless rate since September 1992.

According to figures released today, the Tampa Bay area's unemployment hit 8.3 percent in December, a jump from 7.9 percent in November and up from 4.7 percent in December 2007. Those numbers reflect Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties. The state's overall unemployment rate also jumped last month, rising to a seasonally adjusted rate of 8.1 percent from 7.4 percent in November and 4.5 percent in December 2007.

Both the Tampa Bay area and Florida are faring worse than the United States overall, which saw its jobless rate rise to 7.2 percent last month from 6.8 percent in November and 4.9 percent a year ago, according to figures from the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation.

The number of jobs in Florida fell by an estimated 255,200 between December 2008 and December 2007. Once again, construction led the way in job losses, losing 15.6 percent of its jobs over the year.

Other industries that have suffered include manufacturing, which lost 7.4 percent of its jobs, department stores -- down 11.2 percent -- and automobile dealers, down 9.9 percent).

A few industries managed to buck the trend by adding jobs. Those included health care and social assistance, which saw its job count rise by 4.2 percent, and educational services, which rose by 4 percent.

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

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT