Now Hiring or Not Hiring?

Tampa has been hit with the highest unemployment rate this past month in the last thirty years at 13.1 percent. While over 300,000 jobs in Florida have been lost in this past year, the construction industry by itself had laid off 90,700 workers. With all the talk of job loss and economy in the tubes, some might ask, which jobs remain untouchable?


The sad truth is that there is no clear answer that question. However an employment breakdown of the Highlands, Hardee and DeSoto counties provided by the Highlands Today shows the percentage of employment in each industry. For example, the industries of trade, transportation and utilities are at 17 percent, government employment is at 16.5 percent, agriculture 16.1 percent, education and health services are at 13.8, leisure and hospitality 7.1 percent, professional and business services 6.5 percent, and construction is at 3.9 percent.

Ron Rae, columnist of “The Rae Way”, featured in Hernando Today, recently wrote about how hurricane season should hopefully bring in some construction jobs. As awful an idea at that sounds, it would most likely decrease the unemployment rates, even if it’s only temporary.

Another disheartening fact about the jobs that are hiring is that they most likely will be filled by overqualified employees who will be accepting a pay cut. Branch manager Joe Badalamenti for Manpower, located on 5625 W. Waters Ave told News Channel 8’s Krista Klaus that salaries have fallen between 10 to 20 percent since the unemployment controversy.

While it’s difficult to say which jobs are currently hiring, it’s easier to say which job markets are taking the biggest hit. And even among the jobs opportunities currently available, it’s not promised to continue that way for very long.