Two bright lights shine amid the carnage of Florida's record unemployment: health care and private higher education.
The state's jobless rate hit 12.3 percent in March -- 2.6 percentage points above the national average. Florida lost 149,600 jobs in the past year, bringing the current unemployment number to 1,138,000 Floridians.
But two sectors -- health care and private postsecondary schools -- bucked that downward trend with a combined increase of 33,300 jobs, according to statistics compiled by Florida's Agency for Workforce Innovation.
Most of the increase is due to health care and social assistance (up 27,300 positions for a 3 percent increase), primarily in ambulatory health care services.
Private postsecondary education added 6,000 jobs (up 10.5 percent).
On the negative side, the biggest loss leader remained construction (down 57,000 jobs for a 13.7 percent decrease).
Other hard-hit industries included leisure and hospitality (off 28,800 jobs, down 3.1 percent); manufacturing (off 26,100 jobs, down 7.8 percent); financial activities (off 24,600 jobs, down 5 percent); and trade, transportation and utilities (off 22,600 jobs, down 1.5 percent).
Even the recession-resistant government sector shrank by 1,400 positions (off 0.1 percent), due almost entirely to reductions at the local level.
Nearly two-thirds of job losses statewide are tied to three industries: construction; trade, transportation and utilities; and professional and business services.
FLORIDA'S HEALTHY SECTOR
But the health-care sector is getting stronger.
"In fact, it has been the state's only growing job sector for most of 2009, adding 11,000 jobs over the year," said the state workforce agency.
Surpassing the state's leisure and hospitality industry in the past year, the health-care segment now employs 939,000 Floridians. The Florida Medical Association reports that private practice physicians' offices alone account for more jobs than hotels, motels, casinos and amusement parks.
The biggest single job category in the health field is nursing, and the Florida Nurses Association said versatility in the profession, along with the continued high demand by an aging population, make for robust job prospects in the future.
"Nurses can be entrepreneurs. They're opening clinics, they're consultants, they help architects design medical offices. There are still things to be invented that nurses can do," said Willa Fuller, executive director of the Orlando-based association.
Fueled by the aging Baby Boomer population, Kristen Knapp, director of communications for the Florida Health Care Association, observes that Florida's already-sizable elderly population "is growing sicker and more medically complex. As they continue to age, we see the need for more long-term care."
Industry experts note that the average age of caregivers is going up, too, which means more retirement-driven vacancies in the decade ahead.
BACK TO SCHOOL
Higher education, meanwhile, is experiencing a related growth spurt as more Floridians head back to school to learn new trades and skills -- including health care. This trend is particularly pronounced in the private sector.
The Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges represents some 200 of the nearly 900 "for-profit" private campuses around the state. That total is up from 750 institutions just three years ago.
These schools fulfill "half the state's demand for allied health positions such as blood drawers, medical coders, technicians and nurses," says Kathy Mizereck, executive director of the Tallahassee-based association.
Proprietary colleges -- with such familiar names as Keiser, Kaplan and DeVry -- are the fastest-growing segment of higher education, enrolling some 400,000 students. Many of these are adults transitioning into new fields.
Like community colleges, "we are counter-cyclical to the economy," Mizereck says. "People are going back to train and improve their skills." And faculty hiring accompanies that demand. Some 63,300 are now employed at private postsecondary campuses around Florida.
What's more, Mizereck pegs placement rates of graduates at "75 to 80 percent."
The Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, which includes 28 private institutions of higher learning ranging from the University of Miami to Leesburg's tiny Beacon College, is seeing similar growth and success.
"Enrollment is up 5 percent (among in-state students receiving Florida Resident Access Grants) and 3 to 4 percent overall. The public is hungry for higher education," said ICUF executive director Ed Moore.
MEDICAL TROUBLE AHEAD?
While health care assumes an ever-enlarging role in the economy, the Florida Medical Association warns that dangers lurk for doctors and the state.
"We continue to face a physician shortage due to medical liability and low Medicaid payments and a lack of graduate medical education residency programs," the association stated.
"Florida is exporting medical students -- who we have educated with our tax dollars -- to other states."
The association says Florida could staunch that exodus and improve its economy by adding 2,700 residency positions to bring the state up to the national average.
"This would prevent Florida from losing $4.3 billion in total economic activity, 34,000 jobs and $4.1 billion in income in just two years," the association estimates.
Overall, the state's Agency for Workforce Innovation sees growing cause for optimism.
Florida job postings compiled by the Help Wanted OnLine data series from The Conference Board totaled 232,200 ads in March, up 10.4 percent from February.
"This is the largest over-the-month gain since the series began in 2005, and Floridas over-the-month increase in job demand in March is the largest of the ten most populous states," the agency reported.
Agency Director Cynthia R. Lorenzo said, Floridas job market continues to show signs of improvement with job losses moderating and new job listings increasing."
ENERGIZING FUTURE GROWTH
Economic-development officials say Florida's energy sector is primed for robust growth -- if the state will cooperate.
Florida has a tremendous opportunity to attract renewable energy companies to our state, which would create high-tech, high-wage jobs and further diversify our economy, said Lynda Weatherman, president and CEO of the Economic Development Commission of Floridas Space Coast.
One such company, Petra Solar, which got its start at the University of Central Florida, seeks to expand its Florida footprint by creating new, green Florida jobs as it ships products across the nation and around the world.
"With the state of Florida posting another month of record unemployment with numbers higher than the national average, companies like Petra Solar can help by making major investments in renewable energy projects," said Shihab Kuran, Petra's CEO and president.
"In the process, we can help combat the economic leakage that occurs when clean-tech jobs go elsewhere. The investment needed to spur this industrial renaissance, however, will not flow until the barriers to growth are removed," Kuran said.
"We can provide new jobs for Floridians in the renewable energy industry, but for solar companies like ours, utilities must have meaningful incentives to procure renewable energy products and services that are manufactured in the state of Florida."
Concluded Weatherman:
European and Asian renewable energy companies have already established a U.S. presence in other states due to, in part, their proactive statewide energy policies. Without a policy or program to encourage these businesses to consider Florida, we will continue to lose the rapidly growing renewable and clean energy industry to other states.
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
