Florida's 3-Legged Stool Has a New Leg

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.