Jobs take hit from hurricane

Effect on Florida’s private-sector employment market regarded as short-term.

Florida added 16,200 private-sector jobs in September, but that was a 20 percent decrease from the 20,328 added a year ago, payroll firm ADP said Wednesday.

The decline was unsurprising since last month was when Hurricane Irma swept through Florida, knocking out power to millions of businesses. Nearly 90 percent of Florida Power & Light Co.’s customers lost power during Irma. The utility provides electricity to South Florida and half the state.

Nonetheless, the largest number of job additions came in trade, transportation and utilities, with a combined 3,400 positions filled.

“That may be reflecting

storm prep,” said Sean Snaith, economist for the University of Central Florida. Retailers were working hard to get supplies and groceries into stores before the storm, for example.

Snaith didn’t read much into the lower job creation number for Florida.

“The hurricane is going to have some short-run im-

“The hurricane is going to have some short-run impact on the labor market, but I think it will dissipate in a matter of months.” Sean Snaith, economist, University of Central Florida

pact on the labor market, but I think it will dissipate in a matter of months,” he said.

Nationally, there was a drop in leisure and hospitality jobs, which he attributes to Florida essentially being shut down by the storm for a week or so, when tourists weren’t coming in and residents couldn’t eat out.

Florida also added 2,800 jobs in professional and business services; 1,800 in construction and mining; and 600 in manufacturing, ADP said.

ADP’s report is not broken down regionally. Job creation numbers for South Florida and the state are scheduled to be released on Oct. 20 by Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity. That report includes both private- and public-sector jobs, as well as the unemployment rate.

Nationally, there were 135,000 jobs added in September, with the bulk at large businesses and service jobs including professional and business services, according to ADP’s report.

ADP’s employment reports, produced in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics, measure changes in regional and state private employment each month.