TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Tampa Bay unemployment hits 11.1 percent, Florida at 10.6

Tribune file photo (2008)

The construction industry has lost 16.2 percent of its jobs over the year; manufacturing and transportation industries also suffered.

ADVERTISEMENT

By MICHAEL SASSO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 17, 2009

TAMPA - The Tampa Bay area's unemployment rate now tops 11 percent while Florida's has risen to 10.6 percent, according to state figures released Friday.

More than 147,000 people in the Bay area were unemployed in June out of a labor force of 1.3 million, a jobless rate of 11.1 percent. That's up from the 10.7 percent unemployment rate in May, according to data from the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation.

In June 2008, the jobless rate was 6.4 percent.

The Bay area includes Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties.

Statewide, the unemployment rate rose from 10.3 percent in May to 10.6 percent in June. About 970,000 Floridians were unemployed last month out of a labor force of about 9.2 million.

The jobless rate a year ago was 6 percent.

By comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in June.

One industry still adding jobs in June was health care and social services, where employment rose by 1 percent compared with June 2008.

Within that broad category, nursing care centers continued to hire rapidly, with employment rising by 6.5 percent over the year.

Most other industries lost jobs.

Hardest hit included construction, which shed 16.2 percent of its jobs over the year; manufacturing, which lost 11.6 percent; and transportation and warehousing, down 8.4 percent.

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

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT