- October 26, 2024
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A half-century ago, describing Florida's economy was pretty simple. Demographers and economists called it a three-legged stool - agriculture, tourism and construction.
Today, Florida's economy still could be considered a three-legged stool, but one of the legs is different: Health care has replaced agriculture.
That change is quite evident in the tables on this and the next page. In eight Gulf Coast counties, health care employs 215,678 people - more than any other industry. It ranks first in three counties, second in four and third in another in total employment.
Drawing from job data compiled by state labor-market statisticians, the eight tables show the top 15 industries by employment in the eight Gulf Coast counties in the Review's coverage area. If you study the table for each county, you can clearly see a picture of what is driving each county's economy. For instance:
• Collier and Lee counties are two of Florida's fastest growing counties. No surprise then that construction is those counties' biggest employer. Tourism, which includes the restaurant industry, and health care are the second and third biggest industries, reflecting the demographics of a region with a large base of snowbirds and retirees who need health care and eat out a lot.
• Hillsborough County, the most populous, has one of the most balanced and diverse economies. Even though the administrative and support services (see "Second-Biggest Industry") and health care clearly dominate Hillsborough's employment, the figures show that Hillsborough also is a banking center and has a strong base of scientific, technical and professional (lawyers, accountants) employment.
Worth noting: Agriculture continues to shrink as a leading employer and industry. It ranks among the top five employers in only two counties - Lee and Manatee, both centers for vegetables, citrus and sod.
• Another indicator: Public administration, otherwise known as government, ranks among the top 10 industries by employment in all eight counties. It is the fourth-largest employer in Charlotte and Pasco counties, respectively.
• Arts, entertainment and recreation: Sarasota County calls itself Florida's Capital of the Arts. But Collier County has more arts and entertainment jobs and a higher percentage of people in that industry than does Sarasota: 4.5% in Collier, 2.8% in Sarasota.
Where the Jobs Are Going
Ranked by most new jobs
12/04 12/05
Jobs Jobs Change % Chg.
Hillsborough 543,712 563,352 19,640 3.6%
Pinellas 454,420 470,835 16,415 3.6
Lee 238,163 251,588 13,425 5.6
Sarasota 155,330 163,776 8,446 5.4
Collier 135,386 143,096 7,710 5.7
Manatee 130,937 138,056 7,119 5.4
Pasco 160,895 166,707 5,812 3.6
Charlotte 57,479 60,204 2,725 4.7
Source: State of Florida
Charlotte
Industry # Businesses Employees
Health Care, Social Assistance 391 7,021
Construction 831 5,570
Accommodation, Food Services 190 3,357
Public Administration 47 3,068
Professional, Scientific, Tech. Svc 366 1,507
Admin-Support Svc., Remediation 269 1,443
Finance and Insurance 201 1,276
Other Services (except Public Admin.) 293 1,233
Real Estate, Rental, Leasing 287 990
Arts, Entertainment, Recreation 47 694
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing 25 664
Wholesale Trade 154 626
Information-Media 37 597
Unclassified establishments 66 109
Management of Enterprises 14 69
Collier
Industry # Businesses Employees
Construction 1,887 19,176
Accommodation, Food Services 692 15,708
Health Care, Social Assistance 731 12,953
Admin-Support Svc., Remediation 893 8,515
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing 103 7,010
Arts, Entertainment, Recreation 227 6,458
Public Administration 68 5,501
Professional, Scientific & Tech. Svc 1,393 5,086
Other Services (except Public Admin.) 1,066 4,915
Finance and Insurance 599 4,087
Real Estate, Rental, Leasing 977 3,315
Wholesale Trade 478 3,225
Information-Media 119 1,823
Management of Enterprises 69 734
Unclassified establishments 151 307
Hillsborough
Industry # Businesses Employees
Admin-Support Svc., Remediation 2,264 85,990
Health Care, Social Assistance 2,699 60,282
Finance and Insurance 2,329 46,773
Accommodation, Food Services 2,047 46,359
Construction 3,696 41,965
Professional, Scientific, Tech. Svc 5,011 40,463
Education Services 369 40,321
Wholesale Trade 2,527 29,987
Public Administration 165 26,603
Information-Media 646 21,620
Other Services (except Pub. Admin.) 2,597 16,799
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing 311 14,589
Arts, Entertainment, Recreation 405 12,381
Real Estate, Rental, Leasing 1,780 12,280
Management of Enterprises 135 4,046
Lee
Industry # Businesses Employees
Construction 3,040 32,454
Health Care, Social Assistance 1,130 24,932
Accommodation,Food Services 1,066 20,833
Admin-Support Svc., Remediation 1,256 14,638
Education Services 100 11,850
Public Administration 132 10,562
Professional, Scientific, Tech. Svc 1,810 9,443
Other Services (except Public Admin.) 1,389 6,853
Finance and Insurance 986 6,547
Real Estate, Rental, Leasing 1,339 6,356
Wholesale Trade 808 6,311
Arts, Entertainment, Recreation 296 6,000
Information-Media 201 4,092
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing 117 1,835
Management of Enterprises 65 1,529
Manatee
Industry # Businesses Employees
Admin-Support Svc., Remediation 612 24,293
Health Care, Social Assistance 662 11,764
Accommodation, Food Services 527 9,633
Construction 1,163 8,920
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing 91 6,011
Public Administration 73 5,630
Education Services 73 5,556
Professional, Scientific, Tech. Svc 902 3,515
Wholesale Trade 398 3,238
Other Services (except Public Admin.) 675 3,040
Management of Enterprises 62 2,605
Finance and Insurance 415 2,550
Arts, Entertainment, Recreation 121 2,349
Real Estate, Rental, Leasing 570 2,209
Information-Media 94 1,216
Pasco
Industry # Businesses Employees
Health Care, Social Assistance 853 14,155
Construction 1,546 10,627
Accommodation, Food Services 533 9,340
Public Administration 58 5,288
Admin-Support Svc., Remediation 622 4,647
Professional, Scientific, Tech Svc. 798 3,424
Other Services (except Pub Admin.) 727 3,367
Finance and Insurance 439 2,339
Wholesale Trade 371 1,882
Real Estate, Rental, Leasing 453 1,681
Arts, Entertainment, Recreation 130 1,421
Agric., Forestry, Fishing, Hunting 91 955
Information 87 680
Utilities 17 640
Management of Enterprises 19 344
Pinellas
Industry # Businesses Employees
Health Care, Social Assistance 2,795 61,853
Admin-Support Svc., Remediation 2,064 54,174
Accommodation, Food Services 2,068 38,299
Professional, Scientific, Tech. Svc 4,336 26,903
Construction 3,177 24,602
Education Services 320 23,788
Finance and Insurance 1,930 23,160
Public Administration 133 21,357
Wholesale Trade 1,855 14,946
Other Services (except Public Admin.) 2,557 13,563
Real Estate, Rental, Leasing 1,745 8,882
Management of Enterprises 118 8,744
Information-Media 527 8,690
Arts, Entertainment, Recreation 451 7,351
Utilities 17 1,717
Sarasota
Industry # Businesses Employees
Health Care, Social Assistance 1,314 22,718
Construction 2,429 17,217
Accommodation, Food Services 783 15,642
Admin-Support Svc., Remediation 1,071 13,234
Professional, Scientific, Tech Svc 1,856 9,951
Education Services 114 7,346
Finance and Insurance 832 7,196
Public Administration 73 6,700
Other Services (except Public Admin.) 1,245 6,626
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation 240 4,613
Wholesale Trade 729 4,456
Real Estate, Rental, Leasing 931 3,386
Information-Media 191 3,102
Management of Enterprises 60 624
Utilities 24 568
SECOND BIGGEST INDUSTRY
What appears to be the second-largest industry along the Gulf Coast is a category state labor statisticians call "administrative and support services, waste management and remediation." In our tables, this category is listed as "Admin-Support Svc., Remediation."
This industry employs 206,934 people along the Gulf Coast, which, technically, should make it one of the three legs of Florida's three-legged employment stool.
But it's not that simple. Included in this category is a mixture of industries: professional employment organizations, formerly known as staff leasing firms; temporary help agencies; travel agencies; security firms; janitorial, landscaping and pest control services; and the garbage collectors.
Of those, the PEOs dominate the category. But even then, their employment figures are misleading. If, say, a PEO handles the payroll for a construction company, that construction company's employees are considered employees of the PEO, thus skewing the data.
