Florida Keys and Key West Employment

Our local economy leans towards goods and services for both new residents and tourists.The retail, construction and hotel industries have the most employees in Monroe County.
Business Size
Monroe County is comprised of primarily small businesses.
Since there is no state or local income tax, you take home more.

Employment: The good news.  Key West has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.
Why? Key West is one of the most popular destination points in the world for Divers, Boaters, Fishermen and people looking to get out of the bad weather and enjoy our water and the unique ambiance of Key West and the neighboring islands

So What. In addition to people flying and driving in, on average we get two to three Cruise ships from all over the world each day. This has spurred a growth which includes more hotels, condos, and restaurants, charters, etc. Obviously all these new startups plus all the existing ones need people.

So. The bad news for an Employer!
Employers have a hard time finding full time or year round employees. Instead they get people looking to work summers or to pay for extended vacations. Now there is nothing wrong with this and in some cases this is what they want however in most cases they would like to find steady year round help and offer full benefits.

The good news for you.
If you are looking for a steady job, have your own transportation and a good work ethic (will show up) there are lots of jobs to be had. For instance in the building, remodeling trade contractors have a very hard time getting reliable help. Some of these jobs start at $15.00 per hour. In general retail jobs start at $8.00 and quickly go to $10.00 and more with commissions.

Sound too good to be true. Remember this is a resort area, which has a unique and completely different makeup than the rest of the country or world. Kind of like Aspen except that we get tourists year round!
To look for jobs in the classifieds go to  www.keysjobs.com or www.keynoter.com

Some 2006 statistics:
Natural Resources & Mining N/D
Construction 5.9%
Manufacturing 0.7%
Trade, Transportation and Utilities 17.1%
Information 1.1%
Financial Activities 5.4%
Professional & Business Services 6.7%
Education & Health Services 6.1%
Leisure & Hospitality 24.8%
Other Services 3.4%
Public administration 7.3%
Unclassified 0.1%

The areas top employers as of 2006 per the Enterprise Florida site at http://www.eflorida.com/profiles/CountyReport.asp?CountyID=25&Display=all

Major Private Sector Employers

• Monroe County
  Business Line: County Government
  Number of Employees..................................................... 700
• HMA
  Business Line: Hospital
  Number of Employees..................................................... 600
• Monroe County Sheriff's Office
  Business Line: Law Enforcement
  Number of Employees..................................................... 561
• City of Key West
  Business Line: City Government
  Number of Employees..................................................... 500
• HTA
  Business Line: Tourist Attraction & Retail Company
  Number of Employees..................................................... 300
• FKAA
  Business Line: County Water Comany
  Number of Employees..................................................... 258
• Florida Keys Community College
  Business Line: Education
  Number of Employees..................................................... 225
• Monroe County School Board
  Business Line: Education
  Number of Employees..................................................... NA
• Publix
  Business Line: Retail Grocer
  Number of Employees.....................................................NA
• Winn Dixie
  Business Line: Retail Grocer
  Number of Employees.....................................................NA

Additional resources for demographic information include:
• Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida (BEBR)
• http://www.bebr.ufl.edu/
• U.S Census Bureau
• http://www.census.gov
• Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation – Labor Market Information
• http://www.labormarketinfo.com

State jobs http://dms.myflorida.com

 In conclusion, its not New York, but you're living in a tropical paradise and you're still in the United States.