Gov. Scott: Tampa Area Added More Than 44,000 Jobs Over the Year

Press Release

Today, Governor Rick Scott announced the Tampa area added 44,300 new private-sector jobs over the year in January. The unemployment rate in the Tampa area declined by 1.0 percent over the year to 4.8 percent in January. Florida has added 1,060,800 private sector jobs since 2010. Governor Scott will celebrate this great news today on his "Million, Billion Jobs Victory Tour" at Kobie Marketing in St. Petersburg.

Governor Scott said, "Job creation is continuing to rise in Tampa, with more than 44,000 new jobs created over the year. With more than one million jobs created across the state and $1 billion in tax cuts over the past two years, we have a lot of great news to celebrate on the "Million, Billion Jobs Victory Tour' today. I am also excited to announce that Kobie Marketing will be creating 255 new jobs."

During the "Million, Billion Jobs Victory Tour" stop at Kobie Marketing in St. Petersburg this afternoon, Governor Scott will also announce the company's plans to expand and create 255 new jobs for local families, 160 of which are expected to be created by the end of 2016. New positions being filled this year include project managers, developers, creative designers, copywriters, strategists and consultants.

Ashby Green, CFO of Kobie Marketing, said, "We look forward to the collaboration and support of the city, county and state as we continue to attract and retain some of the best and brightest resources in the country. Kobie has been headquartered in beautiful downtown St. Petersburg since 1990. I am pleased to announce our plans to expand our Kobie footprint within the community that we've called home for more than 25 years, Pinellas County. I'd like to commend the talented team at Kobie on an incredible history and a bright future! You all have been integral to our success, and we're looking forward to the continued expansion of our team."

The industries with the largest gain in jobs over the year in the Tampa Bay area were professional and business services with 14,900 new jobs and leisure and hospitality with 9,100 new jobs. The Tampa Bay area was first among the state metro areas in job demand in January with 44,747 openings. The metro area was also first in the state in demand for high-wage, high-skill science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) occupations, with 14,693 openings in January.

Florida created 36,000 private-sector jobs in January, and a total of 1,060,800 private-sector jobs since December 2010. Florida's statewide unemployment rate for January remains steady at 5.0 percent. In January, more than 28,843 Floridians were placed in jobs by CareerSource Tampa Bay and the state's other 24 regional workforce boards.

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