Information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly jobs report released Wednesday shows that for all of 2024, total nonfarm jobs in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area increased by 1.9 percent or 5,900 jobs.
The Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area led other metro areas in the southwest Florida area in annual job growth over that time. The Cape Coral-Fort Myers numbers compare to an increase of 1.4 percent in the nation as a whole and 1.5 percent in the state of Florida.
The numbers also showed that the Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island metro area came in last for job growth among Southwest Florida metro areas for 2024.
The report showed the following numbers for Southwest Florida metro areas, month-over-month, three-month change and year-over-year and total employed:
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers: .2% (700); .5% (1,500); 1.9% (5,900); 313,300
- Punta Gorda: .4% (200); -.5%, (-300); 1.4% (800) , 56800
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: .2% (3,800); .1% (1,900); 1.1% (17,400); 1,565,300
- North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton: .4% (1,400; -.3% (-1,000); 1& (3,500); 349,800
- Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island: -.1% (-200); -.6% (-1,100); .6% (1,100); 174,700
Information in this report was provided and based on research provided by APM Research Lab and Marketplace. This report uses data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics accurate as of February 05, 2025. The latest month of data available in the current release is December 2024. WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.
