Governor DeSantis Announces Tampa Area Private Sector Employment Up 72,600 Leading All Other Metro Areas in Jobs Gained In Four Major Industries Over the Year in January 2023

Tampa, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the Tampa area private sector employment grew by 72,600 jobs over the year, an increase of 5.6 percent. In January 2023, the Tampa metro area led the metro areas in job gains over the year in professional and business services, increasing by 19,300 jobs; other services, increasing by 4,900 jobs; manufacturing increasing by 4,200 jobs; and construction, increasing by 3,900 jobs. The Tampa area’s labor force grew by 56,299 over the year in January 2023, a 3.5 percent increase.

The Tampa area gained the second-highest number of private sector jobs over the year in January 2023 among all metro areas. The Tampa area’s unemployment rate was 2.6 percent in January 2023, a decrease of 1.1 percentage points from the year ago rate of 3.7 percent.

Florida’s unemployment rate is 2.6 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from the previous month’s revised rate of 2.7 percent and 0.8 percentage point below the national rate of 3.4 percent. Florida’s revised unemployment rate reflects that more people than initially reported are participating in the state’s workforce. Florida’s labor force grew by 259,000 (2.4 percent) from one year ago, which is more than one percentage point faster than the national rate of 1.3 percent over the same time period.

In January 2023, leisure and hospitality gained the most jobs among all major industries, adding 16,100 jobs (+1.2 percent) over the month, followed by education and health services, adding 4,900 jobs (+0.3 percent), financial activities, adding 4,900 jobs (+0.7 percent), and other services, adding 3,200 jobs (+0.9 percent). 

In addition to the January 2023 labor statistics, today’s release includes revisions to historical labor force, employment, unemployment, and unemployment rate estimates. This is the result of an annual process that occurs every year in March in each state nationwide. The revised historical economic data released today are based on additional information that was not available at the time of original publication. Florida’s annual 2021 and 2022 unemployment rate revisions, reflecting the model changes, can be found, here.

Data from the month of January continues to indicate there are many job opportunities available for Floridians throughout the state, with more than 391,000 jobs posted online. Floridians in search of work and new job opportunities are encouraged to turn to the CareerSource Florida network for help. Floridians can find guidance on how to register with Employ Florida and search listings of available local job openings. Career seekers also can improve their employability by perfecting resume writing and interviewing skills, establishing career goals, and pursuing customized career training. These services are provided at no cost to job seekers.

To view the statewide January 2023 employment data, visit www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases. Visit Florida Insight for more information on labor market and economic data.

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