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Bay Area Jobless Rate Hits 10.2%, State's At 9.4%

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By MICHAEL SASSO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 27, 2009

TAMPA - The number of jobless residents in the Tampa Bay area has topped 10 percent while the state unemployment rate hit 9.4 percent, according figures released today.

The unemployment rate in the Bay area, which includes Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties, rose from 9.8 percent in January to 10.2 percent in February. The Bay area's unemployment rate was just 5.1 percent in February 2008, according to the state's job service, the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation.

Florida saw its jobless rate shoot up, too. The state's unemployment rate of 9.4 percent is the highest it has been since April 1976, when the rate also was 9.4 percent. The state's unemployment rate was 8.8 percent in January and 5.2 percent a year ago.

Both the Bay area and the state are faring significantly worse than the nation overall. The U.S. unemployment rate in February was 8.1 percent.

About 874,000 Floridians are out of work, the Agency for Workforce Innovation estimates. However, the actual number of out-of-work citizens is likely higher, because the state only counts unemployed people actively looking for work. It does not count so-called "discouraged workers" who are unemployed and have given up their job search.

Among area counties, Hillsborough County's unemployment rate rose to 9.7 percent in February, which is up from 9.3 percent in January and from 4.9 percent a year ago. Unemployment in Pinellas County rose to 10 percent in February from 9.6 percent in January and 4.9 percent a year ago.

Pasco County saw its unemployment rate rise to 11.3 percent last month from 10.8 percent in January and 5.9 percent in February 2008. Hernando County's jobless rate rose to 12.7 percent last month from 12.4 percent in January and 7 percent a year ago.

The hardest-hit county in Florida is Flagler County on the northeast coast, which has an unemployment rate of 14.2 percent. It has been hit by cutbacks in manufacturing and continued job losses in construction. Liberty County in the Panhandle has the lowest unemployment in Florida, with a 5.5 percent jobless rate.

Industries that have seen the biggest cutback in jobs include construction, which has seen 20.3 percent of its jobs evaporate over the year; automotive repair and maintenance (down 18.6 percent); and automobile dealers (down 15.2 percent).

Once again, health care continued to buck the trend. Employment in the broad health-care and social assistance industry has risen 2 percent over the year. Within that industry, employment at nursing care centers is up 6.9 percent and hospital employment is up 2.2 percent.

The Agency for Workforce Development noted that Florida has nearly $1.4 billion in federal stimulus funds available for its unemployment compensation program. Last week, the agency started mailing and electronically distributing an extra $25 a week in unemployment compensation to qualified recipients last week.

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

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