Employment up in Marion

Fourteen of Florida's 22 markets, including Ocala, added new jobs over the past year, state figures show. Nearly half of the jobs went to three areas: Tampa-St. Petersburg added 26,900 jobs; Miami picked up 18,700; and Jacksonville increased by 8,300 jobs.

Marion County's employment gain was much more modest: a net 1,300 jobs between December 2010 and November 2011, the state records indicate. While that's just a fraction of employment growth other areas have experienced in the past year or so, local observers say the figure is about right, given the local economy's condition. Florida has added 120,000 jobs just between January and November of this year, making the Sunshine State one of America's fastest-growing employment markets.

Gov. Rick Scott, in a recent interview with the Star-Banner's Tallahassee bureau, asserted that Florida is a place where "people believe ... jobs are going to grow."

Pete Tesch, president and CEO of the Ocala-Marion County Economic Development Corp., said the jobs total was about right, keeping pace with what some Florida economists had predicted for Ocala.

"We're pretty much on track, given the economic condition. Hopefully, the bleeding has stopped," Tesch said.

Tesch said new indicators in consumer spending were hopeful. If not producing many new jobs, he noted, that should at least slow the number of layoffs.

Underscoring that point, the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, or BEBR, reported on Tuesday that consumer confidence among Floridians had risen for the fourth consecutive month, reaching its highest level since March.

And the belief among state residents that it was a good time to purchase "major household items" was the most positive since February.

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Employment up in Marion - Ocala.com - December 30, 2011