Hospitality industry boosts job growth in Southwest Florida

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The leisure and hospitality industry presented the largest boost to the Southwest Florida job market in 2016. Gov. Rick Scott announced Friday.

More than 11,000 private sector jobs were added across all industries in the region, which contributed to a slight drop in unemployment in Fort Myers and Naples. Out of the 7,200 jobs added in Fort Myers, 2,100 were in leisure and hospitality. The industry was second to new construction jobs in Naples, which added 4,200 jobs since last September.

Scott said the state’s unemployment rate is the lowest it has been, at 4.7 percent, since November 2007. He credits his $1 billion cut in taxes for the job market growth.

“With more than 11,000 new jobs created in Southwest over the past year, it is clear that our focus on cutting $1 billion in taxes over the past two years is helping job creators provide new opportunities for our families,” he said in a written statement.

Here is a breakdown of the numbers:

• Fort Myers: 7,200 new private sector jobs
  • Leisure and hospitality: 2,100
  • Trade, transportation and utilities: 1,700
  • Professional and business services: 1,500
  • Unemployment rate: 4.7 percent
• Naples: 4,200 new private sector jobs
  • Construction: 1,300
  • Leisure and hospitality: 1,100
  • Unemployment rate: 5.4 percent

There were 23,000 jobs added in the entire state. Florida’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.7 percent, which is slightly lower than the 5 percent national average.