Studer Community Institute

A look behind the jobs numbers

June 22, 2015
/ Carlton Proctor
/ economy

For military wives like Kaia Swift, finding a job in Pensacola that matches their skill set can be a trying occupation itself. The 23-year-old Kansas City native has a journalism degree from the University of Missouri, boasting one of the nation's best schools of communications. After graduation, Swift worked for a government watchdog group in Washington, D.C., and quickly got intrigued with politics. Earlier this year, Swift found herself jobless in Pensacola as a result of her husband's transfer to Pensacola Naval Air Station. "We moved down here in February and I knew I wanted to find a job right away," Swift said. In April, Swift found a part-time administrative job at a local church that "was just what I was looking for." Good thing Swift didn't move here in April of 2010 when the recession and BP oil spill sent Pensacola's unemployment rate soaring to above 11 percent, a modern-day record high. In fact five years ago this month, more than 23,500 people were unemployed and looking for work in the Escambia-Santa Rosa metro area. Jobs were at best scarce, and at worst unattainable. To put the June 2010 unemployment number in perspective, it's nearly the population of the cities of Fort Walton Beach and Milton combined. Today, the number of unemployed in the Escambia-Santa Rosa area has plummeted to 9,576, with the jobless rate in Escambia at 5.3 percent, and 4.4 percent in Santa Rosa. The numbers of unemployed for both Escambia and Santa Rosa combined continue to fall in recent months at a rate averaging 500 per month. Despite those improvements, Pensacola still has a long way to go to reach "full employment" — when unemployment is in the 3 percent or below range. It means essentially that everyone who wants a job, can get one. Three industries in demand Local experts say the slow but steady improvement in the job market is largely the result of strong, sustained hiring demands in the health care, manufacturing and hospitality industries. The local average 40-hour-a-week wage in those sectors, according to Landrum Staffing, is: — Health care, $22,880 to $27,040; — Hospitality, $18,720 to $20,800; — Manufacturing, $24,960 to $29,120. Of those three sectors, manufacturing has picked up the most over the past two or three years, says Johanna Pohlmann, manager of Landrum Staffing's Administrative Professional Division. "Manufacturing is definitely stronger now than it has been," Pohlmann says. Pohlmann expects those three sectors — health care, hospitality and manufacturing — to remain strong through the end of 2015 and perhaps into early 2016. [sidebar] Escambia County's April (the latest data available) unemployment statistics. (Number in parenthesis April 2014 figure) Labor force: 138,876 (139,934) Employment: 131,538 (131,516) Unemployment: 7,336 (8,418) Unemployment rate: 5.3 percent (6.0 percent) Santa Rosa unemployment statistics for April 2015: Labor force: 73,197 (73,582) Employment: 69,956 (69,850) Unemployment: 3,241 (3,732) Unemployment rate: 4.4 percent (5.1 percent) Source: Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. [/sidebar] Another positive sign of the job market's health, Pohlmann said, is that people like Swift are finding jobs quicker, and some of those with full-time jobs are migrating to jobs with more responsibility and higher pay. Conversely, part-time positions are becoming more plentiful, but those jobs are not evolving into full-time jobs with benefits, Pohlmann said. While the demand by local employers for new hires is increasing, wages generally are lagging. "We're seeing a slight increase in wages, but not enough to offset demand,” Pohlmann says. “We're not where we need to be in Pensacola with wages.” Another promising job sector is in the transportation field, says CareerSource Escarosa spokesman Eric Flora. CareerSource Escarosa is a nonprofit employment and training resource center in Pensacola and Milton. "Obviously, health care hiring is out there in front of the pack, but we're definitely seeing an increased demand for over-the-road truck drivers," said Flora. "In fact one of the job placement requests for a truck driver that came in here recently was offering a $47 an hour wage," he added. Moreover, the demand for high-skilled job — especially in shipbuilding — is strong and getting stronger. "If you're a pipefitter or welder, the world is your oyster right now," Flora said. Unemployment claims slowing There's also been an uptick in lumber manufacturing and the demand for workers. Flora noted that local one mill recently added a third shift to its production schedule. "It's getting to the point where businesses are scrambling for help," he said. "We're also seeing more businesses participate in our job fair events, and we're seeing people get offered better jobs." Another indicator of better times on the job front is a noticeable slowdown unemployment claims, and in foot traffic at CareerSource Escarosa's two local offices. Overall, the Pensacola economy is chugging along, steadily improving, but still has some ground to make up before it gets back to healthy, sustainable full employment. "Everybody I speak to in the staffing industry all sound extremely busy these days," said Pohlmann. "I think we have a ways to go to full employment, but overall the jobs market seems to be very positive at this point in the year."

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