Will Job Growth Keep Pace with Population Growth in NE Florida?

Some Labor Day labor statistics for the greater Jacksonville area.

St. Johns County, just south of Jacksonville, is growing fast. According to the census bureau, Florida’s St. Johns County is the 14^th fastest growing county in the nation. Drill down a little deeper, and you’ll find that much of that growth is happening in the town of Ponte Vedra, FL, home to Nocatee, and ranked as the 2^nd fastest growing suburb in America by Realtor.com.

With so much growth happening, you have to wonder…where do/will all these people work? The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity may have a few answers for us.

Let’s start with a quick overview of employment data in northeast Florida:

• St. Johns County had the lowest unemployment rate (3% as of August 17, 2018) in the Northeast Florida region/Jacksonville MSA, consisting of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam & St. Johns counties
• As of July, 2018, nonagricultural employment in the area had increased by 3.2% over the year
• The Jacksonville MSA also had the third highest annual job growth in the state in selected industries in July of 2018

You can dig a little deeper into some of these statistics here (PDF).

Also of note is the fact that approximately 1/3 of St. Johns County residents say they’re commuting to Duval County (Jacksonville) for work. Others may be working closer to home, in St. Johns County, telecommuting, or going to one of the four other counties in the area for work.

Health Care Leads the Way

If we look at current demand for workers, we see that health care companies take six of the top 10 spots for number of online job ads in the month of July, 2018.

The St. Johns County School District comes in at number seven on that list.

Looking ahead, the Department also shows us projections for the fastest-growing occupations in the area through 2025:

And we can also see which occupations are likely to gain the most new jobs:

Interestingly, census data also shows that fewer Americans are willing to move for a job. But that hasn’t slowed the growth here in northeast Florida. Must be the weather and proximity to the beach…

If you’re looking for a place to call home, and think northeast Florida might fit the bill, you can search for homes here on our website. Or get in touch with us and we’ll help you find a home that meets your needs.