ORLANDO’S JOB GROWTH LEADS REST OF FLORIDA:

According to a recent article in the Central Florida Business section of the Orlando Sentinel, Metro Orlando led Florida in the rate of job growth, and added 31,500 jobs in the 12 months ending February 28, 2007, the larges employment gain in any metro area in the state.

The statewide unemployment rate was 3.3% in February compared to the national rate of 4.5 percent. There were 5,300 more construction jobs statewide in February than a year earlier. While many experts last year were predicting a decline in construction jobs because of the weak housing market, construction in hotels, shopping centers and state and local government projects are offsetting the decline in residential construction. This gain in construction jobs is viewed as a very positive factor for the economic well-being of the state, as well as Central Florida.

Ossama Mikhail, an economist at the University of Central Florida further credited the regions’s effort to diversity beyond the leisure and hospitality industries, which has allowed Metro Orlando to take advantage of the strong statewide gains in professional and business services.

Source: The Orlando Sentinel