Sarasota County adds 2,700 jobs in 2016

The economic recovery in Sarasota County continued as the year began, with the lowest January unemployment rate in nearly a decade. But the metro area covering the two-county region continued its slowdown in new hiring.

Sarasota County’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.8% at the start of 2016, which is still down from 5.6% in January 2015, according to data released today by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. The county’s jobless rate remains below the statewide average.

See below for an interactive map of county-level unemployment rates and the number of jobs added in January over the same month in 2015.

But, the job growth in the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota metropolitan area has begun tapering off, with a 3% increase in hiring in January compared with the same month last year. That’s down from a peak of 6% from 2014 to 2015, and 5% the two years before that.

In an interview last month, Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce CEO Steve Queior said the slowdown in job growth was expected following the peak in 2014, and that a slew of new hotels coming to the area may help buffer hiring in the next few years.

Still, the growth rate in January is about double what the region saw in December. And the metro area outpaced the powerhouse Tampa Bay region, which only experienced a 2.4% increase in new jobs in January.

The construction and manufacturing industries each added about 900 jobs over 2015 at the start of this year, while tourism and healthcare jobs each led the area with 1,100 new employees.