Strong growth of jobs and population is bringing tailwinds to the real estate market in Greater Orlando. This metro, which melds the economic reach of the cities Orlando, Kissimmee, and Sanford, notably exhibited these robust gains on a sustained streak and at rates outpacing its large U.S. counterparts.
In 2018, job growth again delivered rosy opportunities for the Orlando metro which bundles up the combined output of four counties: Lake, Osceola, Seminole, and Orlando’s home—Orange County. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the Greater Orlando region last year maintained its position as the country’s No. 1 in employment gains. The metro has notably kept this record as the fastest growing U.S. job market for the fourth consecutive year.
Government statistics from December 2017 to December 2018 show that the Orlando region created additional 41,800 jobs at a growth rate of 3.3 percent. At this pace, Greater Orlando exceeded other high-growth U.S. metros with 1 million jobs and over. The other U.S. economic powerhouses it outpaced included Phoenix, Houston, Austin, and Las Vegas. Orlando has held this distinction of being the fastest growing U.S. metro since 2015.
Significantly, the robust job creation in Greater Orlando appears a weighty factor too for the entire state of Florida. Since May 2012, the state’s year-over-year job growth rate has surpassed that of the nation’s pace. In the same time span, the Sunshine State produced a total of 213,600 new jobs for a 2.5 percent increase. This compares with the 2 percent increase in jobs for the whole of the U.S.
Economic Diversity Brings Strength in Orlando Region
Significantly, job growth in Orlando last year was well-pronounced outside of its bread-and-butter tourism sector. Indicative of a more diversified economy, the metro’s leisure and hospitality sector, its No. 1 employer, took a backseat last year in terms of job creation.
Most of the Orlando jobs created in December 2017 to December 2018 came from the professional and business services which combined for a 39 percent gain for a total of 16,400 new positions added.
Reflecting the vibrant homebuilding activity in Orlando last year, construction jobs in the metro rose 18 percent, adding 7,400 jobs during the 2017‒2018 period. For the record, housing starts in Greater Orlando ranked in the top 10 among U.S. metros, with its total of 28,900 for single-family homes last year and for condominium and apartment of between 12,000 and 14,000 units.
The tourism sector, for its part, generated 5,700 new jobs for a 14 percent slice of the total employment gain in Orlando. Though it came just in third as a job creator, tourism remains the region’s main source of economic strength, as Orlando has solidified its claim as America’s most visited destination, with its record 72 million visitors in 2017.