Gov. Scott: Tampa Area Led State with Most Jobs Created in the Last Year
August 18, 2017
TAMPA, Fla. — Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that the Tampa area added 39,700 new private-sector jobs in the last year, the highest number of jobs among all metro areas. Tampa’s unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, down 0.8 percentage point from one year ago. Statewide, Florida businesses created 26,300 new jobs in July and the unemployment rate remained at the lowest rate since July 2007, 4.1 percent. Since December 2010, Florida businesses have created 1,422,700 new private-sector jobs. Governor Scott made the announcement at Morgan Auto Group, a Florida-based dealership with more than 23 locations across the state. Morgan Auto Group currently employs 2,000 Floridians, including more than 185 employees at their Brandon Honda location in Tampa. Governor Scott also highlighted his proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution that will require a supermajority vote by future Florida legislatures to raise any taxes or fees.
Governor Scott said, “Three years ago, I was proud to visit the Morgan Auto Group to recognize our efforts to roll back the fees for annual vehicle registrations, which is now saving Florida motorists $400 million every year. It is great to be here today to announce that thanks in part to our continued focus on cutting taxes, local businesses like the Morgan Auto Group have created more than 39,000 new jobs for families in the Tampa Bay area over the year. I look forward to seeing the creation of even more opportunities in Tampa as we fight to prevent against unfair tax increases for generations to come.”
John Marazzi, managing partner of Brandon Honda, said, “The Morgan Auto Group team was proud to welcome Governor Scott to our Brandon Honda location in Tampa today. As a Florida-based business with multiple locations across the state, we appreciate the Governor’s commitment to cutting taxes and keeping taxes low for both families and job creators. We look forward to continuing to grow and create new opportunities in the Tampa Bay community and across Florida.”
Tampa led the state in job growth over the year in professional and business services with 17,200 new jobs and other services with 5,000 new jobs. The Tampa area remained first among the state metro areas in job demand in July with 43,523 openings. The Tampa area also continues to rank first in the state in demand for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations with 14,293 openings in July.
For 64 consecutive months, Florida’s annual job growth rate of 2.9 percent is exceeding the nation’s rate of 1.7 percent. In July, 23,168 Floridians were placed in jobs by CareerSource Tampa Bay and the state’s other 23 local workforce boards.
To view the July 2017 employment data visit www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.
