Florida
Keys Employment
Our
local economy leans towards goods and services for both new residents and
tourists.The retail, construction and hotel industries have the most employees
in Monroe County.
Business Size
Monroe County is comprised of primarily small businesses.
Since there is no state or local income tax, you take home more.
Employment: The good news. Key West has one of the lowest unemployment
rates in the country.
Why? Key West is one of the most popular destination points in the world
for Divers, Boaters, Fishermen and people looking to get out of the bad
weather and enjoy our water and the unique ambience of
key West and our islands.So What.
In addition to people flying and driving in, on average we get two to three
Cruise ships from all over the world each day. This has spurred a growth
which includes more hotels, condos, and restaurants, charters, etc. Obviously
all these new startups plus all the existing ones need people.So. The
bad news for an Employer!
Employers have a hard time finding full time or year round employees. Instead
they get people looking to work summers or to pay for extended vacations.
Now there is nothing wrong with this and in some cases this is what they
want however in most cases they would like to find steady year round help
and offer full benefits.The good
news for you.
If you are looking for a steady job, have your own transportation and a
good work ethic (will show up) there are lots of jobs to be had. For instance
in the building, remodeling trade contractors have a very hard time getting
reliable help. Some of these jobs start at $15.00 per hour. In general retail
jobs start at $8.00 and quickly go to $10.00 and more with commissions.Sound
too good to be true. Remember this is a resort area, which has a unique
and completely different makeup than the rest of the country or world.
Kind of like Aspen except that we get tourists year round!
To look for jobs in the classifieds go to www.keysjobs.com or www.keynoter.com
Some statistics:
• Construction 5.4%
• Education & Health Services 12.3%
• Financial Activities 6.0%
• Information 1.3%
• Leisure & Hospitality 32.6%
• Manufacturing 0.8%
• Natural Resources & Mining 0.4%
• Other Services 3.5%
• Professional & Business Services 7.8%
• Public administration 8.8%
• Trade, Transportation and Utilities 21.2% The areas
top employers as of September 2004 per the Enterprise Florida site at http://www.eflorida.com/profiles/CountyReport.asp?CountyID=25&Display=all
• Monroe County
• Business Line: County Government
• Number of Employees.....................................................
700
• HMA
• Business Line: Hospital
• Number of Employees.....................................................
600
• Monroe County Sheriff's Office
• Business Line: Law Enforcement
• Number of Employees.....................................................
561
• City of Key West
• Business Line: City Government
• Number of Employees.....................................................
500
• HTA
• Business Line: Tourist Attraction & Retail Company
• Number of Employees.....................................................
300
• FKAA
• Business Line: County Water Comany
• Number of Employees.....................................................
258
• Florida Keys Community College
• Business Line: Education
• Number of Employees.....................................................
225 Additional
resources for demographic information include:
• Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida
(BEBR)
• http://www.bebr.ufl.edu/
• U.S Census Bureau
• http://www.census.gov
• Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation – Labor Market Information
• http://www.labormarketinfo.com State
jobs http://dms.myflorida.com
In conclusion, its not New York, but you're living in a tropical paradise and you're still in the United States.
More Stats
Total labor force in 2004: 45,662
Unemployment rate in 2004: 3.3%
Average household size:
Monroe County: 2.2 people
Florida: 2.5 people
Median household income in 2005: $49,040
2005 median house value: $683,200
Median contract rent in 2005: $1,001
Median monthly housing costs in 2005: $1,193
Estimated median household income in 2005: $46,219 ($42,283 in 2000)
This county $46,219
Florida: $42,433
Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $490,423
Monroe County $490,423
Florida: $189,500
Median montly rent in 2000: $820
Institutionalized population: 849
Median monthly costs for houses with a mortgage in Monroe County in 2000:
$1436