Demand For Workers Up In Hillsborough County

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — Hillsborough County residents are having no trouble finding work as a result of increased job opportunities in the Tampa Bay area.

According to the city of Tampa's Workforce Development team, job postings in areas like financial services and real estate increased 6 percent from 2015 to 2020.

That is an increase of around 43,000 new job postings in the area over five years, according to Economic Modeling, a company hired by the city of Tampa to provide labor market data.

The 6 percent growth rate for the Tampa/Hillsborough County area outpaced the national growth rate, which was stagnant.

"It can be really expensive for companies to hire new workers," said Brenda McKenzie, director of Workforce Partnerships & Specia lProjects for Tampa's Neighborhood & Community Affairs Division. "The increase in job postings in Tampa/Hillsborough means that companies here are ready to make a bottom-line investment in the talent needed to help grow their businesses."

In terms of future growth, the City of Tampa is focused on five major job sectors that Tampa Mayor Jane Castor's Workforce Development Advisory Committee identified as a priority.

In 2020, according to Economic Modeling, the number of jobs posted in Tampa/Hillsborough in those five major job sectors were:

• Construction: 2,082 positions posted
• Manufacturing: 3,711 positions posted
• Financial, real estate and professional services (led by banking and insurance): 17,708 positions posted
• Tourism and hospitality: 5,074 positions posted
• Health care: 6,873 positions posted.

Castor said ensuring that people in the Tampa Bay area have access to job training and meaningful careers is a cornerstone of her Transforming Tampa's Tomorrow Vision.

"We want to help Tampa residents create their own success stories in our growing city," Castor said. "The secret is out. More and more folks are moving to Tampa each day from throughout the country. It's important that we connect Tampa residents to these opportunities."

To learn more about finding access to open positions across the Tampa Bay area, continuing education, state-sponsored apprenticeships, job training and social and financial resources, click here.