Jacksonville’s labor market is ending 2018 in strong shape, with unemployment at its lowest level since at least 1990.
According to a quarterly survey released last week by staffing firm ManpowerGroup, the news may even be better next year.
ManpowerGroup’s quarterly survey of hiring expectations of the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas found Jacksonville has the fourth-best employment outlook for the first quarter of 2019.
According to its survey of Jacksonville area businesses, 30 percent expect to increase staff in the first quarter while only 1 percent anticipate shedding jobs. That produces a net employment outlook of 29 percent, the company said.
The only metro areas with a brighter net outlook than Jacksonville are three others in Florida: Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach at 37 percent, Cape Coral-Fort Myers at 32 percent and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater at 31 percent.
But despite the strength in those markets, Florida’s statewide net employment outlook of 26 percent was not the best in the nation. Delaware (30 percent), Idaho (28 percent), Hawaii (27 percent) and New Hampshire (27 percent) all ranked higher.
The labor market looks strong across the country, with the overall net U.S. outlook at 20 percent, the strongest hiring intentions in 12 years, ManpowerGroup said.
That should provide holiday cheer for job seekers.
“Increased employer optimism tells us employers have jobs to fill, yet we know they are struggling to find the talent they need from production line workers to IT professionals,” ManpowerGroup North American President Becky Frankiewicz said in a news release.
Companies not only are offering higher pay but also better benefits to entice workers, she said.
ManpowerGroup said its Jacksonville survey found positive job prospects in a number of industry sectors: construction, durable goods manufacturing, transportation and utilities, wholesale and retail trade, information, financial activities, education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and government.
Nationally, ManpowerGroup said the best job prospects are in transportation and utilities, helped by consumer expectations for on-demand delivery.
The leisure and hospitality sector also is strong as improved consumer confidence spurs more Americans to travel.
Jacksonville’s 29 percent net employment outlook for the first quarter is up from a 25 percent outlook in its previous survey three months ago for the fourth quarter, and much higher than its survey a year ago which found a net outlook of 19 percent for the first quarter of 2018.
The latest official data from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity found Jacksonville nonfarm businesses added a net total of 14,800 jobs from October 2017 through October 2018, a 2.1 percent growth rate.
The agency said the Jacksonville area’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.9 percent in both September and October. That marked the first time the rate was below 3 percent since state agencies began compiling comparable data in 1990.
The November report on unemployment and job growth for Florida and local areas in the state will be released Friday by the Department of Economic Opportunity.
