| Florida’s September Job Growth Rate is Three Times Faster Than the Nation NORTH VENICE, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis was joined by representatives of three Florida-based businesses — Tervis, PGT Innovations, and Anna Maria Oyster Bar — to highlight the recent success of Florida’s job market and support Florida-based companies. Florida’s economy gained 84,500 jobs in the month of September, including nearly 73,000 private-sector jobs. September also marked 17 months of private-sector job growth, increasing by 5.6% year over year. Florida has only experienced this magnitude of monthly private sector job growth on four occasions in the past 30 years. “Business is booming in Florida, and today I was proud to highlight the continued growth of Florida’s economy alongside three Florida-based businesses,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.“Florida has reached a level of job growth only seen on four occasions in the past 30 years, despite concerning federal actions causing economic uncertainty. We are outpacing the nation because Florida is investing in real infrastructure, investing in workforce development, and standing up for businesses. We will continue to work hard to keep Florida open, free, and built for opportunity.” |
| The full video of the press conference is available for use here or by clicking the image above, courtesy Governor’s Press Office. |
| “Governor DeSantis has created a business environment that has enabled us to hire 115 people since June that has helped minimize the broader impact that the pandemic created, and Tervis is very fortunate to be in a state with a healthy economy,” said Rogan Donelly, President and CEO, Tervis. “Tervis has experienced a lot of success over our history of operating here in the state of Florida, however, we never could have prepared for what happened during the pandemic. [Under] the leadership of Governor DeSantis, Tervis was able to keep our headquarters open in order to manufacture our products, our employees were able to safely stay at work and provide for their families, and service was able to continue our 75 year legacy of success during a time when other companies in other states were struggling. Tervis is a classic American leisure brand, and we look forward to another successful seventy-five years here in the State of Florida.” “[The] pro-business atmosphere in Florida has been crucial for PGT innovations to prosper; specifically over the last 18 months, our business has benefited from low taxes from forward-thinking policies,” said Rod Hershberger, Chairman, PGT Innovations. “When COVID began affecting our beautiful state, we were first and foremost concerned about the thousands of families that supported themselves through our workforce and what the building industry would do if they lost one of the largest suppliers of windows and doors in the country. As the rest of the country is experiencing mandates that have frustrated and really closed down businesses elsewhere, we don’t see those mandates happening here. We’re able to stay open and continue working because of Governor DeSantis’ efforts to protect Florida jobs. This is the best place to work from a tax perspective and from the leadership that we have, and we intend to stay here for long time.” “Everybody in our industry feels we’ve got a governor that’s got our back, that’s working with us, that’s working to help us,” said John Horne, President & Owner, Anna Maria Oyster Bar. “We closed down for seven weeks [in 2020], it was a tough time for everyone, because we were not considered essential employees. When we were back open, we went three months without one application for a cook at one of our restaurants. We’re very fortunate that we were allowed to open up. Our sales [now] don’t compare to 2020, compared to 2019, we’re up 36 percent. We want to open four more Anna Maria Oyster Bars within the next two years, double our size, because the time is right, and a lot of that’s thanks to what’s going on with our elected officials.” “We’re seeing a lot of transportation growth, job growth, and we’ve got to continue to invest in that,” said Kevin Thibault, Secretary, Florida Department of Transportation. “Right here in Port Manatee, we invested in new cargo cranes, warehouse improvements, and we have made improvements to roadways to get goods back to market. We also have some significant improvements on the highway end, we have a river road expansion and one of our biggest projects, improvements at I-75 to help increase that capacity and that throughput in the Tampa Bay area. I know many in the Manatee and Tampa Bay area are very familiar and excited for the improvements we are making, and thank Governor DeSantis for all that he is doing here in the State of Florida.” “The job numbers are truly remarkable, and it is wonderful to see the hospitality sector leading that growth with a 24% increase,” said Dana Young, President and CEO, Visit Florida. “This would not be possible without leadership from Governor DeSantis, business leaders, and those all over our state who kept their businesses going, gave their employees a place to work, let them put food on their tables, feed their families. Governor, by keeping Florida open while so many other states were closed our well-timed marketing during the pandemic allowed Florida to reach the top of the list of desired destinations for American travelers, and we’re beating them by a lot. We are beating out New York, Las Vegas, Hawaii, California, and we are unapologetic in our excitement to continue to bring the message of Florida to visitors.” The Florida economy thrived in September, growing at three times the rate over the month compared to the nation. The Leisure and Hospitality sector gained the most jobs with 26,600 new jobs added. Florida’s labor force added 50,000 workers over the month. In the last year, Florida’s labor force has increased by 540,000, representing a 5.4% increase, which is significantly higher than the national rate of 0.8%. Florida’s unemployment rate also dropped to 4.9%, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from August 2021. This announcement further highlights the Governor’s recent efforts to support the manufacturing industries and workforce education in recent weeks. The Governor has announced multiple grants and initiatives for businesses and employees in communities across Florida in support of job-growth, workforce training initiatives, and infrastructure investments in small and rural communities. These areas include Brevard County, Pinellas County, Okaloosa County, Collier County, Polk County, Sumter County, Hernando County, and the City of North Port. |
