2016 Jobs in Florida: Year in Review

For the past six years, Florida TaxWatch has published an annual review that has analyzed the most recent year’s employment figures. As we begin 2017, TaxWatch looks to assess how our job market fared last year, based on data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Florida’s economy continued to generate new jobs in 2016 with total non-farm employment hi ing a new high of 8.4 million jobs. Florida’s employment growth for 2016 came in 3.2 percent higher than employment in 2015. Florida has experienced six consecutive years of job growth of 2.0 percent or more, and this year Florida ranked 2nd in the nation; only four states experienced job growth at 3.0 percent or higher.

Florida gained 257,000 employment positions in 2016, including government jobs. Private sector employment increased by 245,000, hitting a new high of 7.3 million workers. The private sector took the lead of job growth, as it has since the end of the recession in 2009, and job growth has accelerated since 2011. Florida has added 1.1 million jobs in the private sector from 2012 to 2016. The rate of growth from 2013 through 2015 has been a remarkable 3.6 percent per year. The rate of growth in private industry sectors slowed down a bit in 2016 to 3.5 percent, still a strong number.