County loses jobs in strongest month

Palm Beach is only Florida county south of Daytona Beach to lose positions during usually busy stretch.

For Palm Beach County job seekers, December usually delivers. It’s a month when the holiday shopping frenzy and the start of tourist season translate to plentiful positions.

But December 2016 bucked the typical trend. Palm Beach County lost 2,100 jobs from November to December — making it the only Florida county south of Daytona Beach to offload positions during the dawn of snowbird season, according to statistics released Friday by Florida’s labor department.

Economists said the December downturn might be a simple statistical blip rather than a sign of a weakening job market.

“I am fairly certain that the Palm Beach County numbers are a little better than this report shows,” said Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner.

Meanwhile, Palm Beach County continued to lag the robust job growth reported statewide. Florida posted 3 percent job growth during the past year, but Palm Beach County employment expanded by just 1.6 percent, one of the lowest rates among Florida metro areas.

“Palm Beach has definitely been toward the back of the jobs parade,” said University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith.

December hiring might have been weak because holiday shopping inc re asingly has moved online, according to the nonprofit CareerSource Palm Beach County. While Palm Beach County’s retail vacancy rate is just 4.4 percent, the lowest level since 2007, many merchants have acknowledged the e-commerce trend by hiring fewer workers before Christmas.

“Retailers were adjusting to that reality,” Snaith said. “They just weren’t aggressively hiring for the season.”

Palm Beach County’s lack of growth in construction jobs has hampered the labor market. And Vitner said strong growth has come in areas such as Fort Myers, The Villages, Orlando and Tampa, all regions with more affordable housing than Palm Beach County.

Palm Beach County’s jobless rate was 4.7 percent last month, down from November’s 4.9 percent but up from the 4.5 percent level reported for December 2015.

Palm Beach Count y gained 9,900 jobs during the past year, led by the low-paying leisure and hospitality sector, which added 3,700 positions. Other sectors adding workers included education and health services (2,200 jobs); construction (1,300 jobs); trade, transportation and utilities (1,000 jobs); and government (900 jobs).

The financial sector lost 500 jobs, while manufacturing and information each shed 100 positions.

Palm Beach County’s jobless rate peaked at 11.6 percent in 2010, and the labor market has improved dramatically since then.

Among Florida counties, unemployment ranged from a low of 3 percent in Monroe County to a high of 8 percent in rural Hendry County.