After a computer glitch delayed it for several hours, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity released the last monthly employment report for 2019, covering November.
Tonya Woodworth, communications manager at CareerSource Research Coast, said the report is continued good news for local workers.
“We were steadily moving in a positive direction for the employment rate (through 2019),” she said. “The economy looks strong in terms of employment.”
St. Lucie County came in with a 3.4 percent not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for November. That’s down from 3.6 percent for October and 3.9 percent for November 2018.
For comparison, Florida had a not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate of 2.7 percent in November, down from 2.9 in October, and 3.3 for the same month in 2018. The nation’s not-seasonally-adjusted rate in November was 3.3, unchanged from October and down from 3.5 percent in November 2018.
With seasonal adjustment – which isn’t available for the county – the state and nation had 3.1 and 3.5 percent unemployment rates, respectively.
“We’ve had consistent growth in the areas of healthcare, hospitality and construction,” Woodworth said.
From November 2018 to November 2019, the education and health services industry sector in the Port St. Lucie Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which includes all of St. Lucie and Martin counties, added 1,100 jobs. That was the most of any industry sector. Leisure and hospitality puffed up by 900 jobs. Mining, logging and construction grew by 700.
In all, from November to November the state shows an increase of 2,900 jobs in the Port St. Lucie area, a 1.9 percent increase. The local jobs swelled over those months from 156,100 to 159,000.
The manufacturing and financial activities sectors both added 200 jobs in the Port St. Lucie MSA. The transportation, warehousing and utilities and other services – which includes things such as automobile mechanics – both added 100 jobs from November to November.
Government added 400 jobs. Information sat stagnant at 1,200 jobs from November to November. Professional and business services dropped 600 jobs.
In terms of occupations, within industry sectors, food preparation did well in St. Lucie County, Woodworth said. “That was the top occupational job growth in the area.” Construction was second, healthcare practitioner third.
2020 holds promise for Port St. Lucie’s employment scene, thanks in large part to things happening in Tradition. Most visibly is the projected summer opening of the Ardie R. Copas State Veterans’ Nursing Home.
The home will employ 145 people, according to the Florida Department of Veteran Affairs, which will operate the home. Those are state jobs – most in healthcare, but some in other areas such as food preparation.
Gov. Ron DeSantis released his proposed 2020-2021 budget on Nov. 18 asking the State Legislature for $6.1 million to fund 48 positions at Copas. The legislature has already funded the remaining positions in this and previous years’ budgets. Hiring for management positions at the veterans nursing home should start in early 2020. By spring, according to the state veterans department, hiring for healthcare and support workers will start.
