Tampa Unemployment Drops To 4.3 Percent

TAMPA, FL — Tampa area job seekers may find there’s a little less competition for some open positions. According to data released by the state of Florida Friday, the Tampa unemployment rate dropped 0.7 percent over the year to a 4.3 percent rate.

To bring that number into perspective, the total unemployment rate in Florida in January 2008 was an estimated 4.6 percent. By March 2010, the statewide rate had climbed to 12.3 percent.

Tampa’s current 4.3 percent rate is partially attributed to the addition of 43,800 new private-sector jobs over the year in April, Gov. Rick Scott’s office reported Friday.

“It is great news that the Tampa area added nearly 44,000 new jobs over the year,” Scott said in a statement. “This growth, in addition to Tampa’s declining unemployment rate, is further proof that our work to cut taxes 55 times and support job creators is helping connect Floridians across the state with new opportunities to succeed.”

According to the state, the professional and business services industry in Tampa grew the most over the past year with 14,500 jobs added. Education and health services grew by 9,100 jobs.

The Tampa Bay area also ranked first in the state’s metro areas in job demand in April, the state reported. A total of 49,939 openings were recorded. Of those job openings, an estimated 15,419 were in high-skill, high-wage STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields.

The statewide unemployment rate dropped to 4.8 percent in April. That’s the lowest recorded in more than eight years.

To find out more about the status of employment in the state of Florida, visit the Department of Economic Opportunity online.

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