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TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity recent released a report in which it forecasts that the state will add more than 1 million jobs by 2020.
But, according to the September report, of the 1 million jobs forecasted in the next eight years, 80% will be regaining jobs lost during the recent economic downturn. The state is projected to gain jobs at an annual growth rate of 1.6%, and economists estimate that Florida's unemployment rate will decline to 6.5% by 2020.
Although the report say all major industry sectors except natural resources and mining will see employment gains, only five of the 12 sectors are projected to exceed their pre-recession employment levels.
The sector predicted to have the fastest growth rate is construction, with 4.2% growth in employment between 2012 and 2020. The professional and business services sector ranks second, with 2.5% growth, and education and health services is third, with 2.4% growth during that time. However, the latter two are predicted to add the most jobs, adding more than 200,000 each, while construction is forecasted to add just more than 100,000 jobs.
The report also says the state's population growth rate will slow, and is not forecasted to reach pre-recession rates by 2020. To read the full report, click here.
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