By Kevin McQuaid

Original Link:  Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL  04.17.10

April 17, 2010

Southwest Florida's unemployment rate dipped slightly in March to 12.9 percent, a signal that the economic recession that has permeated the region for three years may finally be waning.

But don't try telling that to Andrea Wolter.

Job seekers crowd around a United National Foods booth, posting several job openings, at the Suncoast Career Expo. But don't try telling that to Andrea Wolter.

It has been seven months since the concert pianist and certified schoolteacher moved here from New York City to be closer to family, and she is still out of work.

"I'm open for just about anything," said Wolter, 33. "I'm trying to multitask because it seems that's what you have to do now."

Wolter and roughly 2,000 job hunters crowded the Sarasota-Bradenton International Convention Center Friday, hoping to land with one of 75 employers that attended a jobs fair sponsored by Jobs Etc. and other agencies.

About one-third of the job seekers appeared to be over 50 years old.

Employers ranging from Coca-Cola and Frito Lay to TideWell Hospice and Palliative Care and the U.S. Army covered the convention center's slate-colored cement floor, offering an estimated 700 jobs.

"It's been hard, but I know everyone is in the same boat," said Wolter, who was dressed smartly in a light purple skirt and matching top.

Sue Mills showed up in an effort to keep her boat from taking on water. An administrative assistant by training, Mills has not had a full-time job since 2004, when the Chicago company she was with reorganized.

Moving to Sarasota in 2006 when her husband retired did not help, either.

"I had to start over when I came here," said Mills, 60. "I have zero contacts here. And when I started looking, the economy fell apart. I heard on the news that people are hiring, but I haven't seen it. It's been rough."

Mills' and Wolter's experience reflects the reality for more than one million people in Florida, which is experiencing its highest unemployment level since 1970, when record-keeping began.

Statewide, unemployment edged upward in March to 12.3 percent -- though many economists believe the actual rate, when it includes those who have stopped looking for work, is closer to 20 percent. The national rate, without the extrapolation of those who have stopped looking, is 9.7 percent.

Florida's jobless rate is the third-highest in the nation among the most populated states, behind only Michigan and California, according to the Agency for Workforce Innovation, the state's employment division.

The rate also is 26 percent higher than a year ago.

There are now five job seekers in Florida for every available position, said Rebecca Rust, the work force agency's chief economist.

And job seekers' pain will not go away soon. State economists expect Florida's unemployment rate will not fall to normal levels until 2018.

Since April 2006, when unemployment was at a scant 3.3 percent, Florida has lost 890,000 jobs, Rust said.

Florida's job loss has been steeper, and its recovery slower, because credit has been largely unavailable and because of frugal consumer spending, Rust said.

"Credit conditions are still tight, and there are considerable debt burdens consumers are facing," she said.

Regionally, unemployment fell an average of 3.5 percent last month, but it, too, is up an average of 22 percent in Charlotte, Manatee and Sarasota counties from the same period in 2009.

Charlotte's unemployment level is the highest of the three counties, at 13.3 percent.

Combined, there are nearly 49,000 in the three counties out of work, the state reported.

"Patience is the new economic virtue because the recovery's speed will be frustrating at first given how far we've fallen," said Sean Snaith, director of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Economic Competitiveness.

That lingering frustration is part of the reason why President Barack Obama signed into law this week a bill extending unemployment benefits through June 2. The measure is expected to cost the federal government $18 billion.

But there have been some positive signs of late.

Job loss moderated in Florida last month, amid a 10.4 percent increase in the number of online classified advertisements for positions, Rust said.

At the same time, company notices to the state warning of impending layoffs also were down in March, and initial unemployment claims fell 11 percent compared with the same month a year ago.

In Southwest Florida, too, employers seem to be shedding the shackles of recession that has bound them.

Representatives from Lakewood Ranch-based insurer FCCI said during Friday's job fair that the company has 21 openings at the moment.

AdVance Talent Solutions Inc., a Bradenton employment firm, recently filled 70 positions and has plans to fill another 40 clerical, administrative and customer service jobs, though some are temporary positions.

"It's getting busier every day," said Julianne Marik, an AdVance senior staffing specialist attending the job fair at the former Sam's Club.

"I'm very impressed with all the applicants I've seen today," Marik said. "They're dressed for success, well spoken, and asking good questions."

Mills, the Chicago transplant, was among them.

"I have a large range of skills," she said. "I just have to try and keep going."