Florida has more jobs looking for people than people looking for jobs especially because the Sunshine State is expected to have the tenth largest economy in the world by 2030.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce did a study to take a look at the skills gap versus opportunities in the workforce.
What they were really looking at is what skills Floridians need to secure that job they want and then move to a higher-paying job.
“What are the entry opportunities for people that maybe don’t have a college degree, that have a certification or maybe even just a high school degree or associates degree,” said Jerry Parrish, chief economist with the Florida Chamber Foundation. “It really is thorough to look at those skills that will be in demand compared to the supply that’s going to be out there.”
The study found sales, consumer services jobs, business and finance jobs and roles in healthcare are the most in need of employees at this time in our area.
There are a record number of 500,000 jobs open in Florida right now. Forty counties in Florida have more job openings now than they did before COVID-19.
Although Lee County isn’t one of them, experts say that won’t be the case for long.
The unemployment rate in Florida is over 5%.
Parrish said he expected that rate to decrease now that kids are back in school and parents can get back to work.
“We’ve got more open jobs than we have people looking for jobs.,” Parrish said. “Therefore that means a lot of opportunities out there. Who’s got those skills to get those or will get those skills to take those jobs.”