TAMPA, Fla. — The city of Tampa just released new numbers showing Tampa is outpacing the nation in job growth. The city saw a 6% increase in job postings between 2015 and 2020.
"We definitely are on track. There's no doubt," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said.
Since taking office, Mayor Jane Castor has put an emphasis on economic growth and the numbers are in her favor.
"We have the opportunities here in our city," she said. "We just want the entire nation and the world to know that we are open for business."
The city contracted a company to crunch the numbers. From 2015 to 2020, 43,000 new jobs were posted within the city. While the nation stayed stagnant, Tampa grew.
"We're providing not only the jobs, but the skilled workforce for those jobs," Mayor Castor said.
"It's really kind of a nice seamless fit and allows CareerSource to work hand in hand with the city," President and CEO of CareerSource Tampa Bay John Flanagan said.
Flanagan has been in workforce and economic development for 20 years. He says the report's numbers are on par with the explosion of new residents.
"Hillsborough county gets about 30,000 people, probably closer to 60[,000] in 2020. So you've almost doubled your migration in a year," he said.
But even with all these people moving into town, Flanagan says it's not enough to fill these positions. So if you've thought of switching careers, now is the time to start fresh and make more money.
"It's kind of like a buyer's market. You can kind of set your own price because talent is at such a premium that employers might actually have to pay more to get you," he said.
You can read more highlights from the study here.
You can visit the city's job opportunity website here and CareerSource of Tampa Bay's website here.
