A.G. Gancarski
The Florida job numbers have been a primary talking point of Gov. Rick Scott, whose office announced adding a million jobs since 2010.
Jacksonville has been no exception to the rule, with jobs being added throughout the period, and 16,000 of them over the year in November.
Scott said, “I am proud to announce that the Jacksonville area added over 16,000 new jobs over the year in November. The creation of more than one million jobs in five years, as well as this tremendous economic growth in Northeast Florida, is putting Florida on track to becoming first for jobs.”
The release from the Governor’s office points to the success in adding jobs in recession-proof sectors.
The industries with the largest job gains over the year, according to the Governor’s press shop: “education and health services with 5,000 new jobs; leisure and hospitality with 4,700 jobs; and trade, transportation, and utilities with 4,300 new jobs. In November, the Jacksonville MSA had 21,847 job openings and had 5,155 openings for high-wage, high-skill science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) jobs.”
STEM jobs were a priority of Lenny Curry on the campaign trail and in policy statements, and his office lauded the numbers as good news.
“We are very pleased to see these numbers and what they mean for our city,” said Curry in a prepared statement. “This kind of data demonstrates that Jacksonville is headed in the right direction in our efforts to create conditions that attract businesses, employ citizens, and improve economic development.”
Job growth was a major talking point for former Mayor Alvin Brown, and thus far, Curry can point to strong numbers on that front.
