Florida's hot job market cooling
By Jeff Ostrowski
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Unemployment rates continued to rise in August as the job market cooled from a record-breaking run, but employers say it's not getting easier to find workers.
Palm Beach County's unemployment rate rose to 3.9 percent from 3.8 percent in July, the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation said Friday. St. Lucie County's jobless rate rose to 4.7 percent from 4.5 percent, while Martin County's rate remained at 3.6 percent.
Statewide unemployment remained at 3.3 percent, well below the national average of 4.7 percent. However, that gap has been narrowing in recent months. In January, for instance, Florida's jobless rate was 1.7 percentage points below the national average, compared with last month's 1.4 percentage points.
One observer calls the uptick in unemployment a return to normalcy rather than a sign of weakness.
"You would think that a rate below 4 percent wouldn't really be sustainable," said Randall Holcombe, an economics professor at Florida State University. "So I don't look at this as a negative for Florida's economy."
Area jobless rates remained below those of a year ago, and companies looking for employees say rising joblessness hasn't made it easier to find workers.
Jason Gorham, founder and chief executive of Careermetasearch.com in Boca Raton, has struggled to hire five to 10 employees for his start-up firm that links employers and potential employees.
"It's getting harder to find skilled professional people," Gorham said.
Manufacturers also see a shortage of workers.
"They're still saying their biggest challenge is finding a qualified workforce," said June Wolfe, president of the South Florida Manufacturers Association.
And accountants remain in short supply, said Dan DeNisco, a manager at Robert Half International, a financial staffing firm, although he said the hefty signing bonuses that were the norm a year ago no longer are common.
"Employers were doing anything and everything to get people," DeNisco said. "The frenzy is over."
Holcombe said economists have a simple solution for employers who can't find workers: Pay more.
"When you say, 'I can't find people,' what you're really saying is, 'I can't find people at the wage I want to pay,' " he said.
Professional and business services continued to lead the state in new job growth, creating 64,800 positions in the past year, the state Agency for Workforce Innovation said.
The state's lowest jobless rate last month was in the Panhandle's Walton County, at 2.2 percent. The highest was rural Hendry County, at 9 percent.
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