Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys. No, really. Willie Nelson offered sage advice for the Treasure Coast. The state Bureau of Workforce Statistics and Economic Research figured St. Lucie, Indian River and Martin counties are going to shed about 440 jobs in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting over the next eight years. Going for medical degrees as “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” urges turns out to be a great tip. The education and health services industry sector is projected to add about 6,800 jobs on the Treasure Coast by 2027.
The state Bureau of Workforce Statistics and Economic Research released its “2019-2027 Employment Projections” report on Dec. 2. It looks at statewide and localized job prospects over the next eight years. The bureau publishes the eight-year predictions annually.
The bureau figures the Treasure Coast will grow by about 23,000 jobs over the next eight years. That’s about 10 percent more than now. Some of the industry sectors that will grow, according to the projections, are: education and health services gaining about 6,800 jobs; leisure and hospitality gaining 4,550; professional and business services gaining about 2,600 jobs; trade, transportation and utilities gaining about 2,300; and construction with about 2,000 more jobs expected to be created over the next eight years.
Another sector gaining jobs locally will be, according to projections, government, with about 2,100. Almost all of those will be in county and city governments. Other services, which includes such diverse things as automobile mechanics and religious workers, is slated to add about 1,000 jobs over the next eight years. The largest portion of those new jobs are projected to be in religious, grantmaking, civic, professional and similar organizations – about 675.
Two industry sectors that will most likely stay stagnant are information – which includes publishing and broadcasting not on the Internet – and mining. Between them they’re projected to shed 66 jobs. That’s essentially stagnation, although they’ll be losing jobs in the sense of not keeping pace with the growing population of workers.
For the coming year, CareerSource Research Coast projects occupations (which are within industry sectors) that will make gains are food preparation and serving, construction, healthcare practitioner, office and administrative support, and transportation and material moving.
Florida will grow jobs by about 9 percent over the next eight years, according to the Bureau of Workforce Statistics and Economic Research. Just as with the Treasure Coast, Florida farm and ranch workers aren’t facing rosy prospects. The agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry is the largest likely jobs loser for the coming eight years. The bureau figures it will shed about 5,500 jobs statewide by 2027. About 3,200 of those jobs are in crop production. Another 200 in animal production.
Besides mining, every other industry is projected to make gains. Mining, which is only about 4,000 workers statewide now, is expected to lose about 150 over the next eight years.
The industry that will have the strongest percentage growth for the next eight years, according to the state, is education and health services. That industry sector is anticipated to gain nearly 200,000 jobs, a 14.5 percent growth.
Another anticipated large jobs gainer is professional and business services. That’s expected to gain about 170,000 jobs, for a 12.2 percent growth. Leisure and hospitality will likely add about 147,000 jobs to Florida over the next eight years, an 11.8 percent increase. The state will gain, according to projections, 60,000 construction jobs – a 10.7 percent increase.
The other industry sectors will make modest to negligible gains statewide by 2027. However, that’s not bad news for younger workers entering the local jobs market in those industries. According to CareerSource Research Coast, locally older workers nearing retirement or semi-retirement outnumber incoming workers by about three to one.
