(Source: Tampa Tribune)
By Michael Sasso, Tampa Tribune, Fla.
Aug. 21--TAMPA -- The unemployment rate in the Tampa Bay area rose slightly last month but remained flat statewide, according to figures released Friday.
The jobless rate in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area rose to 11.3 percent in July from 11.2 percent in June. That compares to an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent in the Bay area in July 2008, according to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation.
The Bay area includes Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties.
In some encouraging news, fewer people around Florida appear to be losing their jobs. The unemployment rate statewide was 10.7 percent in July, up from the 10.6 percent first reported for June but the same as the later, revised rate reported for June.
Florida is doing poorly compared with the nation at-large, though. The U.S. unemployment rate in July was 9.4 percent, the AWI said.
Most industries lost jobs last month. For example, employment in the construction fields fell 15.6 percent from July 2008 to last month. The losses in construction are even more staggering when comparing today's employment in that field to the number of construction workers in Florida in July 2006, when the housing boom was near its peak.
Today, an estimated 427,000 people work in construction in Florida, compared to 683,600 two years ago -- a drop of 37 percent.
The only major industry still adding jobs is health care, although it's growing at a much slower pace than in the past.
Jobs in the health care and social assistance industry grew at a rate of 1 percent between July 2008 and last month.
The strongest job category within health care and social assistance continues to be nursing care centers, which saw their employment grow by 6.6 percent over the year.
Reporter Michael Sasso can be reached at (813) 259-7865.
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