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How are we doing? Tracking 6 signs of Florida, Tampa Bay economies

 
Francisco Martinez, 27, of Tampa, second from right, fields job possibilities at the 2015 Job & Community Resource Fair at the St. Petersburg Coliseum in February. Florida has gained 268,500 jobs over the past year (June 2014 to May 2015).
Francisco Martinez, 27, of Tampa, second from right, fields job possibilities at the 2015 Job & Community Resource Fair at the St. Petersburg Coliseum in February. Florida has gained 268,500 jobs over the past year (June 2014 to May 2015).
Published June 23, 2015

Approaching the midpoint of 2015, here are six indicators to help explain the state of the economy in Florida and the Tampa Bay area:

25

That's the number of states whose latest monthly unemployment rates — including Florida's, to 5.7 from 5.6 percent — increased in May. If half of this country's states face rising jobless rates, is this the end of the rebound for jobs in America — and Florida? It's not the end. But any gains will get leaner at best — especially as the Federal Reserve draws closer to tweaking interest rates higher. Nine states and Washington, D.C., still saw their unemployment rates decline in May. The other 16 states were unchanged.

17,100

That's the additional number of people in Florida employed in May from April. How did Florida add jobs yet also see its jobless rate rise? More people are moving into the state looking for work, raising the volume of unemployed a bit faster than people were hired in May. Are 17,100 new jobs a good pace for Florida? Larger California added 54,200 in May. But New York, Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania also all added more jobs in May than Florida.

268,500

That's how many more people in Florida were employed over the past year (June 2014 to May 2015). The good news is that number ranks third behind No. 1 California's 465,700 job gains and No. 2 Texas' 286,400 jobs, and far ahead of No. 4 New York's 134,600 gains.

5.7

That percentage, Florida's most recent unemployment rate, is higher than the national 5.5 percent rate in May. But how are we doing compared with other states? Thirty states had May jobless rates lower than Florida's. Arkansas, New York and North Carolina had the same rate. The highest unemployment rate: the District of Columbia at 7.3 percent. The lowest: Nebraska, at a remarkable 2.6 percent.

1,446

Approaching midyear 2015, that's the number of planned layoffs companies have officially told the state since the start of this year they expect to make in the Tampa Bay area. Those numbers were compiled from WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notices companies must file with state officials when the job numbers are deemed statistically significant. Is 1,446 a lot? At the midpoint of 2013, the number was 1,297. And in 2012 at midyear it was 1,359. Seems surprisingly steady in recent years.

1,402

That's the number of proposed incoming jobs from "completed" business expansion projects reported so far this year by the Tampa Hillsborough EDC. Note the similarity with the "1,446" number above of jobs planned for elimination in this area over a similar period of time. Nobody said economic development is easy.

Contact Robert Trigaux at rtrigaux@tampabay.com. Follow @venturetampabay.