A burst of new jobs for the taking

South Florida's labor market is leading the state in new jobs, at a time when the state is leading the nation Companies are coming here in search of skilled labor, new markets -- and a sunny lifestyle

BY GREGG FIELDS

South Florida is working -- literally

Unemployment in Miami-Dade County is at a 20-year low of 43 percent Broward County's 38 percent rate means it is essentially at full employment Palm Beach County is at 4 percent

Together, the three counties form the country's sixth-largest metropolitan area and in the last 12 months have generated 52,200 new jobs Translation: South Florida is leading the state in new jobs, at a time when Florida is leading the nation

''South Florida happens to be a hot market, one of the hottest in the world,'' said Mike Boyar, owner of A Job For You, a staffing-services firm active in Miami-Dade and Broward ``It's our turn''

Kristina Holloway knows firsthand When the Fort Lauderdale native graduated from the University of Florida in 2002, she decided it was time to get a big-city perspective on the business world

She traveled and worked in New York, Washington and even Madrid

''But I came to the realization that we do live in paradise,'' she said ``Then I made the decision to move down here and start my career''

What she found was a great job as a landlord broker at Holly Real Estate on Miami's Brickell Avenue

''It was a great fit from the get-go,'' Holloway said ``I can't wait to get to work in the morning''

William Holly, who started the firm less than three years ago, said he is constantly hiring His staff now numbers 53 ''We've been hiring and growing exponentially,'' he said

MIXED MESSAGE

Although the current strong labor market is often touted as a job boom -- in keeping with South Florida's history of having a boom-and-bust economy -- the reality this time is at once less impressive and more positive

Miami-Dade's employment growth in the last 12 months, for example, lags the 21 percent rate the county achieved in 1999 That's when the stock market and US economic growth reached their zenith In that year, Broward grew its job base 23 percent, a figure that rose to 27 percent for the last year

Nevertheless, the region has shown itself to be virtually immune to downturns, continuing to grow at a sustainable pace through the stock market collapse, the Internet bust and a national recession During several of those years, the country as a whole was either stagnant or losing jobs

In South Florida, the only slump came in the months after 9/11, when Miami-Dade had a slight drop and Broward scored a statistically insignificant gain

This steady expansion, some believe, points to an economy that has matured and diversified and could prove more stable in the future It also illustrates how the area is at the forefront of industries -- tourism, trade and real estate -- that are driving America's economic destiny

''This country is going service,'' said Nick Ferber, a managing partner of Sanford Barrows Group, an employee recruitment firm ``So it's not a shock that a state with a service-based economy and a real estate boom would do better than others''

NEWCOMERS HIRING

The job market here is drawing the attention of more outsiders For instance, Microtech, a Boston staffing firm, is opening a Miami office and has plans for several more

''In the last year, Massachusetts created 4,000 jobs and Florida created 290,000,'' said Joe Donahue, the company founder ``The main reason we're opening here is jobs''

Donahue's firm will fill standard temporary jobs like office administration, warehouse workers and accounting The salaries will range from $8 to $25 an hour, he expects

Most experts expect the trend to continue, in part because South Florida's image is increasingly that of a business center as well as a leisure hub

AIG, the insurance giant, is moving a Latin American division to Miami and anticipates that it will have 60 employees, with an average salary of $101,000, according to the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade's development agency Avionica, an aviation industry contractor, is adding 25 jobs with an average salary of $40,000

Some of the trends that are driving the job growth here include:

• A flood of capital and people from outside the region

• Diversification of the area's economy

• The onward march of the real estate boom

Whether it's Venezuelans escaping the political chaos of the Hugo Chбvez administration or snowbirds escaping cold weather, or retiring baby boomers looking for an amenity-filled retirement, the migration into South Florida today is characterized by people bringing skills and money with them

An example is Farelogix Based in Toronto, the firm has developed technology that allows travelers to more readily access global airfares

''Our model lends itself to the bigger market opportunity of the US,'' said Jim Davidson, president of Farelogix ``Our investors wanted to invest in a US company''

South Florida is a huge potential market, particularly since one of his targeted niches is cruise lines, he said But lifestyle plays into it, too ``It's warmer here than Toronto''

Farelogix is starting relatively small, with 25 employees ''But we're expecting to get big,'' Davidson said The average salary is projected to be about $80,000, reports the Beacon Council

DIVERSIFICATION

As for diversification of the area's economy, stalwart industries like tourism and construction are unquestionably doing well But newer players are also coming into their own

An example is Kaplan University in Fort Lauderdale Historically known as a testing firm, Kaplan four years ago had about 100 people in South Florida

Today, it's an accredited online university with more than 1,000 employees

''It could be anywhere,'' Andrew Rosen, president of Kaplan University, acknowledged about his school ``What we need is a workforce that can fill our needs between highly educated people and extremely educated people''

Candidates with doctorates are still scarce locally, Rosen said But other positions can either be filled locally or from outside ''We find it very easy to recruit in winter,'' he said ``People love the idea of palm trees and Christmas on the beach''

One of the newer hires at Kaplan is Ruben Garcia, vice president of financial aid The Texas native was working at another online university in Chicago when Kaplan came calling ''You fall in love with the area,'' he said ``Your weekends are like a vacation''

For the future, Rosen ''expects to keep on growing pretty rapidly,'' although he acknowledges that some of the jobs may go to other parts of the country

As for the real estate boom, construction has created more than 6,000 jobs in South Florida in the past 12 months and a whopping 14,500 positions in the past three years

It's a heartening trend, because construction tends to create a lot of ancillary jobs in fields like finance, real estate management and law

One major beneficiary of the hot housing market, for instance, is BankUnited Since 2000, its assets have doubled, to more than $9 billion, making it the largest financial institution based in Florida

As for employment: ''We've gone from 850 in December to 1,100 now,'' said spokeswoman Melissa Gracey The number is sure to rise, as BankUnited has five more branches scheduled to open by year-end

''We have at least 150 job openings,'' Gracey said ``We are looking across all departments''