Florida Keys, Key West and Monroe County 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.