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Construction, government adding the most jobs in SWFL. Tourism not as robust in the region.

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Construction, government adding the most jobs in SWFL. Tourism not as robust in the region.

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In Southwest Florida, the construction industry continues to sprout jobs.

The sector gained the most jobs in April over the year.

According to the Florida Department of Commerce’s latest monthly report released Friday, the industry added 2,800 jobs in the three metros, made up of Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties.

That total included 2,000 jobs in Lee, and 700 in Collier.

These industries also saw sizeable gains over the year across the three counties:

  • Government (+2,300)
  • Trade, transportation and utilities (+2,200)
  • Education and health services (+600)
  • Other services (+600)
  • Leisure and hospitality (+500)

Collier added 1,200 jobs in leisure and hospitality, in part driven by the hiring for new hotels and resorts, including the Great Wolf Lodge, which is set to open in September.

Meanwhile, the other two counties lost jobs in the sector: Lee shed 500, while Charlotte dropped 200 over the year.

Although it’s made great strides, the tourism industry is still struggling to recover from Hurricane Ian in Lee, the hardest hit county in the region.

For myriad reasons, tourism has not been as robust in Southwest Florida since 2022. Still, the industry remains one of the largest employers in the region.

Two industries lost jobs regionally

Across the three counties, these sectors lost jobs over the year in April:

  • Professional and business services (-300)
  • Financial activities (-100)

Notably, Lee also shed 200 jobs in manufacturing. However, Collier added 200 and Charlotte picked up 100 in the sector over the years, so it ended up in the positive.

Over the year, nonagricultural employment increased by:

  • +4,600 jobs in Lee
  • +3,600 jobs in Collier
  • +600 jobs in Charlotte

The region’s unadjusted unemployment rate stood at 3.2% in April, up from 2.5% a year ago, but down from 3.4% a month ago.

Collier had the lowest rate – at 2.9%. It was followed by:

  • Lee County (3.3%)
  • Charlotte (3.7%)
  • Glades (4.1%)
  • Hendry (4.3%)

Amy Hanna-Eckenrode, communications director for CareerSource Southwest Florida, described the latest jobs report as positive overall, with unemployment falling over the month in four of the five counties. In Glades, the rate remained unchanged.

In the five-county region, the labor force grew to 676,114 in April, up by 4,825 over the year.

There were 21,962 unemployed residents last month, down from more than 23,000 in March.

Hiring continues, with thousands of available jobs in Southwest Florida listed on the state’s Employ Florida website.

“We still need workers in those top fields, such as health care and the trades, and the trades are doing better,” Hanna-Eckenrode noted.

How did the state do?

Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.3%, up slightly from March and a year ago. Comparatively, the nation’s unemployment rate was 3.9% in April.

There were 361,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of more than 11 million.

Total nonagricultural employment grew to 9,949,600. The state gained 240,500 jobs over the year, an increase of 2.5%.

Nationally, the number of jobs rose by 1.8%.

Statewide, Florida added 148,000 more people to the workforce at an over-the-year growth rate of 1.4%. That was faster than the national rate of less than 1%.

In a statement, Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly attributed the growth to the state’s investments in workforce education and infrastructure, and its “overall financial readiness.”

“Florida is now a state with significant growth in high-wage, high-demand, high-tech and manufacturing jobs, even compared to just five years ago,” he said.

He added the state is “increasingly meeting the needs of job creators” in those sectors, giving residents “tremendous opportunities to elevate themselves and their families.”

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