Brevard County shows solid jobs gains, led by manufacturing

Brevard County shows solid jobs gains, led by manufacturing

Wayne T. Price, FLORIDA TODAY Published 12:45 p.m. ET March 12, 2018 | Updated 1:19 p.m. ET March 12, 2018

The Space Coast work force grew in the last 12 months, jumping by more than 750 people.

The labor market figures for Brevard County, and Florida, for January were released Monday by the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity.

Brevard’s unemployment for January was 4.2 percent, down from 5 percent in January 2016.

The number of people with jobs over that 12-month period grew by 2,946, while those out of work fell to 11,189 from 13,382.

Brevard’s workforce in January was 255,651 compared with 252,705 a year earlier.

The most noticeable increase was in the manufacturing sector which by 1,100 positions over the year.

Florida issues two jobs reports in March — the February figures will be released on March 23 — as the state crunches actual numbers vs. estimates from last year’s data.

The latest news comes as a number of companies look to expand their operations on the Space Coast, including the Walmart distribution center off State Road 524 in Cocoa.

Walmart is looking for freight handlers, general maintenance mechanics, maintenance technicians, power equipment operators and other positions.

The company plans to employ more than 450 employees once fully operational. Walmart is investing more than $145 million on the 640,000-square-foot Cocoa facility.

“We are excited at the economic boost the Walmart Distribution Center will bring to our city and the opportunity it will provide Cocoa residents to build their careers,” said Cocoa City Manager John Titkanich.

The growth and opportunities for our residents from projects such as this, and other recent development throughout the city, is energizing,” he said. “This is a great opportunity, and I hope everyone searching for a job will come out and participate in these sessions.”

There will be two other hiring informational sessions for the facility this week in Titusville.

They will be 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday and 2-7 p.m. Thursday at CareerSource Brevard-Titusville, 3880 S. Washington Ave., Ste 214.

Other details for people interested in the positions:

Contact Price at 321-242-3658 or [email protected]. You can also follow him on Twitter @Fla2dayBiz.