“Central Florida has not experienced an unemployment rate this high since June 1975 when the rate was 11.9%”, said Workforce Central Florida, in a statement released today, December 18th 2009.
According to the statement, new monthly unemployment claims for Metro Orlando (Orange, Osceola, Lake and Sumter counties) have increased significantly over the past month and year:
November 2009: 8,994
October 2009: 11,487
November 2008: 10,352
November 2007: 6,242
The Metro Orlando area lost some 44,000 jobs (-4.1 percent) over the past 12 months. All Metro areas in the State lost jobs over the 12-month period. The only employment sector that gained jobs in Central Florida was Education and Health Services, a modest 0.3 % or 400 jobs.
The industry losing the most jobs over the last 12 months in Central Florida was construction which shed 13,200 jobs or -19.2 percent, a result of the continued declines in the housing market.
According to the statement, in the Metro Orlando area, there are about 978,000 persons employed, with 131,000 unemployed as of November 2009. Nearly 50,000 more people are unemployed in Central Florida in November 2009 than one year ago.
Some 222,000 persons remained unemployed in November 2009 across the 9 counties, namely, Orange, Osceola, Volusia, Flager, Seminole, Sumter, Brevard, Lake and Marion.
Meanwhile, unemployment in the State of Florida reached 11.5 % in November 2009, while the national jobless rate stands at 10 percent.
According to the latest forecast from the Florida Economic Estimating Conference, the unemployment rates for the State should peak at 11.0% during the April-September of 2010 before a slow, steady decline. Unemployment rates are not projected to reach 6% or lower again until sometime in 2016-18.
What Job Seekers Can Do in Today’s Unemployment Market
• Attend WCF’s Virtual Job Fair January 11 – 15 at www.WorkforceCentralFlorida.com/jobfair
• Apply for a Stimulus-Funded Internship. WCF will be connecting qualified job seekers, age 22 or older, with stimulus-funded employment opportunities through December 2010. Earn $10 per hours and work up to 40 hours a week for three months. Qualifications and application online at www.WorkforceCentralFlorida.com/ReEmploymentConnection.
• Browse WCF’s online job bank at www.WorkforceCentralFlorida.com for job leads in all industries. Use WCF’s Resource Room for no cost access to computers, Internet, fax machines, phones and copiers. Current # of openings: 535.
• Apply for unemployment online at www.WorkforceCentralFlorida.com and click on “unemployment resources” in the Job Seeker section, or stop by a WCF office for help. Find the closest office online or call 1-800-757-4598.
What Employers Can Do in Today’s Unemployment Market
• Apply for up to $100,000 to train current employees. WORKFORCE CENTRAL FLORIDA offers Employed Worker Training awards, through a competitive application process, to help pay half the direct cost of training an employer’s current workforce. In today’s economic crunch, this becomes helpful so that employers can stretch their budgets, cross train employees when they
are faced with hiring freezes, and provide additional training to remain competitive in the market and/or to prevent a lay off. Apply online at www.WorkforceCentralFlorida.com/EWTAwards or call 407/531-1200.
• Apply for a Stimulus-Funded Intern. WCF will be connecting qualified job seekers with 700 stimulus-funded intern opportunities with local employers (non profits, government agencies, healthcare, green or emerging jobs, science, technology, engineering or math jobs). WCF will pay interns $10 per hours and work up to 40 hours a week for three months. Qualifications and application online at www.WorkforceCentralFlorida.com/ReEmploymentConnection.
