Data released by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics for Florida shows the state ranks significantly in terms of job growth when compared to the rest of the United States.
For 2023, total nonfarm employment in Florida — standing at 9,860,700 — grew by 2.5 percent in 2023, equaling some 240,600 jobs, according to the Bureau.
That number makes the state 8th in the nation for job growth in that period and is higher than the nationwide growth rate of 2 percent.
Other Florida job sector growth rankings included first in real estate and rental and leasing, second in transportation, warehousing, and utilities, third in retail trade and fifth in professional, scientific, and technical services.
Total nonfarm employment in Florida grew by 2.5 percent in 2023 -- some 240,600 jobs -- according to data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Other areas of job growth in Florida included the state's leisure and hospitality sector which gained about 10,500 jobs from September to December 2023. That’s equivalent to a rise of 0.8 percent.
Looking back over the past year, employment in the sector grew by 1.4 percent over the 12 months ending in December. Nationally, the sector was up 3.4 percent in the past year.
Florida’s Health care and social assistance sector gained about 17,100 jobs from September to December 2023. That’s equivalent to a rise of 1.3 percent.
Looking back over the past year, employment in the sector grew by 5.6 percent over the 12 months ending in Dec 2023. Nationally, the sector was up 4.6 percent in the past year.
Employment numbers
The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area led the South Florida area in annual job growth for 2023 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Total nonfarm payroll employment there grew by 3 percent year-over-year. That’s around 1.5 times the rate of the next-highest metro area — North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton — which rose by 2.3 percent.
The job growth in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach was close to the rate of employment growth in the state of Florida as a whole, which rose by 2.5 percent over the period.
The Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island metro area came in last among the Southwest Florida area’s metro areas for job growth for 2023: Total nonfarm employment there grew by 1.6 percent over the year.
For the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area month-over-month numbers were down by 1,800 jobs but up by 5,500 jobs year-over-year to settle in at 311,900 jobs, a 1.8 percent rise for 2023.
The bureau said that for the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area, the mining, logging and construction sector shed about 500 jobs over 2023 — the equivalent to a decrease of 1.3 percent.
Since 2019, employment in that sector has grown by 16.4 percent. The total number of people employed in the Mining, logging and construction sector in Cape Coral-Fort Myers as of December 2023 was 38,300.
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