Orlando #1 Job Growth City in US in 2014

by David Sprinkle

Forbes has listed Orlando as the #1 Job Growth City in the US in their rankings of the top 10 cities with the highest job growth in the first 3 quarters of 2014. The cities that have made the list show the strongest non-agricultural job growth, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

With a 3.7% growth rate, Orlando tops the list and is more than twice the national average (1.8%). Along with the job growth we have seen a significant drop in the local unemployment rate in Metro Orlando, dropping to 5.7% in September 2014.

Top 10 Cities Job Growth (%)
1.    Orlando, Florida 3.7%
2.    Houston, Texas 3.5%
3.    Dallas, Texas 3.4%
4.    Miami, Florida 3%
5.    Portland, Oregon 2.9%
6.    Riverside, California 2.8% (tie)
6.    Denver, Colorado 2.8% (tie)
8.    San Francisco, California 2.6% (tie)
8.    Seattle, Washington 2.6% (tie)
10.  San Diego, California 2.4%

 

Nationally, the U.S. added 214,000 jobs in October, the highest number in 8 years.  Coupled with the job growth has been a decline in the unemployment rate to its lowest rate in 6 years at 5.8% in October.

What hasn’t been widely reported is that the unemployment rate for those with a “Bachelors degree or higher” sits at 3.1% and for “Management, business and financial operations occupations” the unemployment rate in October was 2.7%!!!

Locally here in Orlando, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are roughly 10,500 Staff level accountants and financial analysts in Metro Orlando.  Over the past 18 months, Verizon has hired roughly 1,000 accounting and finance professionals for their new Financial Hub in Lake Mary.  That’s 1/10th of the total accounting workforce!  The impact has been felt by all companies throughout Metro Orlando and beyond.

There is no hard data on the unemployment rate for degreed accounting and finance professionals in the Orlando area. However, it’s no stretch of the imagination to surmise that the unemployment rate for degreed accounting professionals is hovering between 1-2% (somewhere between 100-250 people out of 10,000+).

What does this mean for you?

  • Job Seekers: now is a good time to either be actively looking or at least putting the feelers out to see what opportunities are out there.
  • Hiring Managers:  Demand is up and supply is down.  It is very difficult to find good talent and just as difficult to keep your top people.
    • Retention Policies: It’s time to re-evaluate salaries, benefits, management practices and work environment.
    • Hiring Strategies: It’s time to re-evaluate how you recruit, attract and hire.  Gone are the days of relying solely on job boards to find quality people.

Call us today if you want to talk hiring and retention strategies or if you’d like to discuss your own career options.

Veritas Recruiting Group – (407) 608-5367