Economic Outlook: Help Wanted!

Economic Outlook: Help Wanted!

By Francis X. Gilpin

Associate Editor

Florida is creating more jobs faster than any other state. But leaders in the building and hospitality industries, among other key components of the state's economy, say the labor pool is too shallow to fill all of their openings.

"There's definitely a shortage in the skilled construction jobs," says Steve Cona, president and chief executive of the local chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, which represents the commercial construction industry.

What is causing the labor shortage? That depends on the industry.

Cona blames high schools for pushing every student into college, regardless of suitability. Journeymen carpenters and electricians, with four years of training, earn from $32,000 to $40,000 a year. "Somebody from our apprenticeship program can make what a starting teacher makes with a four-year degree," says Cona, whose chapter covers from Tampa to Fort Myers.

Carol Dover, president and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, blames excessive government regulation. The proprietors of Florida's approximately 44,000 restaurants and 5,000 hotels and motels are petrified of an immigration bill passed earlier this month by the U.S. House of Representatives, says Dover.

The Republican-sponsored legislation would require employers to check a database of Social Security numbers to verify the legal status of every worker within six years. For an industry that relies on immigrant labor to clean, cook and wait on guests, Dover says: "This bill could break the backs of businesses that are trying to hang on."

To the list of shorthanded industries, state labor economist Bill Dobson would add health care and education.

Dobson, who works at the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, says it is difficult to quantify labor shortages. But strong anecdotal evidence suggests hospitals cannot find enough nurses to care for an aging population and schools aren't attracting enough teachers to deal with mushrooming pupil enrollments and a class-size amendment to the Florida Constitution, he says.

Is pay the problem?

Armando Nargi, president of the Lee County Chamber of Commerce, says the teacher shortage in Southwest Florida is approaching a crisis.

Lee public school teachers with a master's degree have an average of almost 18 years of experience but make an average of just $46,120 a year, according to the latest state data. Not only does the pay discourage out-of-state applicants, Nargi says, but condominium conversions are depriving teachers and other modestly compensated workers of affordable rental housing close to employment centers.

The commuting costs eat into the meager earnings of Lee workers. Consequently, they have less disposable income to spend at local businesses, which Nargi believes need year-round residents more than tourists.

Basic economics prescribes higher wages as the cure for a labor shortage. But Florida International University labor studies professor Bruce Nissen says business owners are reluctant to embrace that idea.

"If restaurants would raise their wages $1 to $1.50 an hour, they'd be no shortage," says Nissen. "They can solve the shortage very quickly and watch workers flock in. But they would rather sit around and gripe about labor shortages."

A 2004 constitutional amendment passed by Florida voters mandating a state minimum wage, which restaurateurs vehemently opposed, will test Nissen's theory. On Jan. 1, Florida's minimum wage goes up to $6.40 an hour, $1.25 higher than the federal minimum.

The amendment will raise the minimum wage to $3.38 an hour from the current $3.13 for Florida employees who supplement their regular pay with tips, according to the restaurant and hotel association.

Association lobbyist Dover denies that higher wages bring in more job applicants to her industry. "They'll take home more in tips than their basic wages," she says.

Higher pay is detrimental to business, she adds. "Sure, we can raise our prices," Dover says. "But, at some point, people are not going to pay $12 for a hamburger. They'll eat at home."

Despite that sentiment, employee compensation is rising on the Gulf Coast. Collier County's average weekly wage increased 10.7% during a recent 12-month period. That was the largest jump among 323 of the biggest counties in the nation, according to a Review analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Neighboring Lee was a respectable 17th on that list, with a 5.4% advance in the county's average weekly wage.

Local pay lags nation

But that doesn't mean the Gulf Coast is erasing Florida's reputation for having workers who accept low pay for their limited occupational skills. The gap is still wide between what Gulf Coast workers make and the pay of their counterparts in the financial and technology hubs of America.

The only Southeast counties in the top 25 of the highest weekly wages are close by the cities of Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh. All three have average wages of more than $1,000 a week.

Hillsborough County had the highest rank on the Gulf Coast at No. 137. Hillsborough's average weekly wage was $732, or $43 below the U.S. average.

Manatee and Pasco counties were near the bottom on the list of 323 counties. Manatee was No. 306 and Pasco was No. 318.

"There's some modest pressure on wages," says Thomas Ginnetti, an adviser at Tampa-based Integrated Employer Resources & Consulting.

Nevertheless, Ginnetti says labor is still relatively cheap around here. But he sees that competitive advantage slipping away.

Sunshine won't cover the mortgage. "You're not going to be able to pay somebody $10 an hour when the cheapest houses they can find are $200,000," Ginnetti says.

Decent pay on the ward

Nursing offers the best pay among the jobs identified earlier this year by the state employment agency as having the most Gulf Coast vacancies.

The average hourly pay was $25.11 for Hillsborough registered nurses. Registered nurses in Pinellas County, who are also in demand, are paid an average of $21.11 an hour.

Willa Fuller, director of member services and public relations for the Florida Nurses Association, hears few complaints about pay. Hospital staffing and working conditions are what drives nurses to leave the profession faster than they can be replaced.

"Even in cases where the pay is good, the job still stays the same," says Fuller. "It is very intense."

The association wants hospitals to hire more aides and technicians to relieve nurses from routine tasks such as regulatory paperwork. "They don't get in to see the patients," Fuller says.

The more time that nurses can devote to planning care so patients are discharged as soon as possible, says Fuller, the happier the patients, their employers and their medical insurers.

Florida lawmakers are helping to increase the labor supply by funding new schools of nursing, according to Fuller. One of them is at Florida Gulf Coast University.

WHERE THE JOBS ARE, HOW THEY PAY

Category Vacancies Avg. hourly pay Location

Retail salespersons 995 $11.39 Hillsborough

Retail salespersons 954 $12.45 Charlotte, Collier and Lee

Carpenters 861 $16.14 Charlotte, Collier and Lee

Customer service representatives 674 $13.79 Hillsborough

Cashiers 548 $7.94 Hillsborough

Registered nurses 534 $25.11 Hillsborough

Construction laborers 481 $10.44 Hillsborough

Customer service representatives 454 $12.89 Charlotte, Collier and Lee

Food preparation, serving workers 450 $7.11 Pinellas

Telemarketers 448 $11.28 Pinellas

Janitors and cleaners 431 $8.45 Hillsborough

Waiters and waitresses 426 $7.49 Charlotte, Collier and Lee

Food preparation, serving workers 414 $7.11 Hillsborough

Nursing aides, orderlies, attendants 409 $10.40 Pinellas

Stock clerks, order fillers 406 $9.90 Hillsborough

Cashiers 400 $7.94 Pinellas

Waiters and waitresses 399 $7.48 Hillsborough

Cashiers 380 $8.64 Charlotte, Collier and Lee

Cashiers 356 $8.02 Manatee and Sarasota

Retail salespersons 355 $10.54 Manatee and Sarasota

Customer service representatives 352 $12.99 Manatee and Sarasota

Registered nurses 337 $21.11 Pinellas

Retail salespersons 306 $11.39 Pinellas

Source: 2005 Florida Agency on Workforce Innovation

FLORIDA AMONG JOB LEADERS

How the Gulf Coast ranks among the 323 biggest counties in the nation. The % change is from March 2004 to March 2005. Employment is in thousands.

Rank County Employment % Chg.

1 Clark, Nev. 844.7 7.6

2 Lee, Fla. 210.5 7.5

3 Rutherford, Tenn. 93.9 7.1

4 Seminole, Fla. 162.3 6.9

5 Montgomery, Texas 100.8 6.1

6 Benton, Ark. 88.3 5.7

7 Lake, Fla. 79.9 5.4

8 Williamson, Texas 99.5 5.4

9 Maricopa, Ariz. 1,685.4 5.3

10 Utah, Utah 152.8 5.3

11 Whatcom, Wash. 77.2 5.3

12 Riverside, Calif. 598.4 5.2

13 Hamilton, Ind. 91.4 5.2

14 New Hanover, N.C. 93.2 5.2

15 Loudoun, Va. 116.3 5.2

16 Sarasota, Fla. 155.3 5.1

17 Marion, Ore. 131.4 5.0

18 Washington, Ore. 230.4 5.0

19 Lexington, S.C. 87.8 5.0

20 San Bernardino, Calif. 627.1 4.9

21 Clackamas, Ore. 141.4 4.9

22 Jackson, Ore. 80.8 4.9

23 Palm Beach, Fla. 549.1 4.8

24 St. Charles, Mo. 115.7 4.8

25 Horry, S.C. 103.7 4.6

30 Manatee, Fla. 129.9 4.4

40 Hillsborough, Fla. 628.9 3.7

75 Collier, Fla. 130.0 2.7

United States 129,802.3 1.7

270 Pinellas, Fla. 434.6 -0.3

Note: Charlotte County isn't among the 323 biggest U.S. counties surveyed by BLS and this set of data from Pasco County was excluded for technical reasons.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, first quarter of 2005

... BUT FLORIDA WAGES LAG

How the Gulf Coast ranks among the 323 biggest counties in the nation

Rank County Avg. weekly wage

1 New York, N.Y. $2,025

2 Fairfield, Conn. $1,613

3 Suffolk, Mass. $1,390

4 Santa Clara, Calif. $1,372

5 San Francisco, Calif. $1,368

6 Somerset, N.J. $1,343

7 Arlington, Va. $1,286

8 Washington, D.C. $1,277

9 Hudson, N.J. $1,236

10 San Mateo, Calif. $1,220

11 Morris, N.J. $1,190

12 Fairfax, Va. $1,181

13 Westchester, N.Y. $1,102

14 Middlesex, Mass. $1,097

15 Fulton, Ga. $1,076

16 Essex, N.J. $1,050

17 Mecklenburg, N.C. $1,048

18 Hartford, Conn. $1,041

19 Montgomery, Md. $1,041

20 Durham, N.C. $1,032

21 Middlesex, N.J. $1,022

22 Contra Costa, Calif. $1,021

23 Montgomery, Pa. $1,010

24 New Castle, Del. $1,005

25 Loudoun, Va. $1,005

United States $775

137 Hillsborough $732

168 Collier $702

215 Pinellas $659

233 Lee $649

242 Sarasota $640

306 Manatee $560

318 Pasco $518

Note: Charlotte County isn't among the 323 biggest U.S. counties surveyed by BLS.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, first quarter of 2005

... YET PAY ALSO IS IMPROVING How the Gulf Coast ranks among the 323 biggest counties in the nation; data compares March 2005 versus March 2004.

Rank County Avg. weekly wage % Chg.

1 Collier, Fla. $702 10.7

2 Cumberland, Pa. $784 9.3

3 Hudson, N.J. $1,236 9.0

4 Henrico, Va. $891 8.4

5 Fairfield, Conn. $1,613 7.7

6 Rock Island, Ill. $728 7.7

7 Trumbull, Ohio $704 7.3

8 Tuscaloosa, Ala. $626 7.0

9 Peoria, Ill. $759 6.8

10 Jefferson, Texas $718 6.5

11 Harford, Md. $704 6.2

12 New York, N.Y. $2,025 5.8

13 Harris, Tex. $950 5.8

14 Mecklenburg, N.C. $1,048 5.8

15 Palm Beach, Fla. $769 5.8

16 San Juan P.R. $511 5.8

17 Lee, Fla. $649 5.4

18 Alexandria City, Va. $972 5.1

19 Madison, Ala. $799 5.1

20 Contra Costa, Calif. $1,021 5.0

21 New Castle, Del. $1,005 4.9

22 Chittenden, Vt. $766 4.9

23 McLennan, Texas $605 4.9

24 Lexington, S.C. $570 4.8

25 New Hanover, N.C. $611 4.8

63 Pinellas, Fla. $659 3.3

67 Manatee, Fla. $560 3.3

126 Sarasota, Fla. $640 2.4

United States $775 2.2

193 Hillsborough, Fla. $732 1.5

Note: Charlotte County isn't among the 323 biggest U.S. counties surveyed by BLS and this set of data from Pasco County was excluded for technical reasons.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, first quarter of 2005