Florida Keys and Key West 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 ambiance of Key West and the
neighboring 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.
Average Annual Wage
(2006)
All Industries $34,930
Construction $35,261
Education & Health Services $38,159
Financial Activities $43,684
Information $47,727
Leisure & Hospitality $25,766
Manufacturing $34,251
Natural Resources & Mining N/D
Other Services $28,954
Professional & Business Services $50,158
Public administration $48,811
Trade, Transportation and Utilities $29,783
Unclassified $37,246
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 5.9% 8.0%
Manufacturing 0.7% 5.1%
Trade, Transportation and Utilities 17.1% 20.8%
Information 1.1% 2.1%
Financial Activities 5.4% 6.9%
Professional & Business Services 6.7% 17.0%
Education & Health Services 6.1% 18.4%
Leisure & Hospitality 24.8% 11.4%
Other Services 3.4% 3.1%
Public administration 7.3% 5.8%
The
areas top employers as of September 2006 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
Take
a look at http://www.employmentwizard.com/?pid=172
In
conclusion, its not New York, but you're living in a tropical paradise
and you're still in the United States.
