Workforce
An ample supply of skilled workers is available in Marion County, Florida. The entire workforce, including adjoining counties, exceeds 650,000.
Marion County's unemployment rate has averaged 10.4% for first eight months of 2012, decreasing from the 2011 average of 12.5%. With a high number of available workers, employers have a motivated pool of candidates to choose from. The Marion County Business Solutions Partnership, consisting of the EDC, the College of Central Florida and Workforce Connection - Citrus • Levy • Marion maintains a unique collaboration to meet employers' needs for workforce training and placement.
One of the key elements in the Ocala/Marion County EDC’s Strategic Plan is Workforce Initiatives. The EDC looks for creative ways to utilize business and community partners to ensure a skilled and reliable workforce is available for employers. One innovative project has been the Marion Technical Institute: Where Education Meets Experience.
For more workforce data, feel free to visit the EDC's State Partner for workforce initiatives, the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation.
- August 2012 County Civilian Labor Workforce 135,020
- August 2012 County Unemployment Rate 10.1%
- August 2012 Florida Unemployment Rate 9.0%
- August 2012 Labor Force of Adjoining Counties 652,732
Florida is a "Right To Work" state.
For your convenience, the workforce data is available in a downloadable pdf format. Click here to view Workforce.
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Custom Window Systems, Inc.
2011 Industrial Occupational Wage Information
| Selected Occupational Title | Entry | Median | Experienced |
| Billing, Posting Clerks & Machine Operators | $10.47 | $13.88 | $16.13 |
| Computer Support Specialists | $12.10 | $17.13 | $20.91 |
| Customer Service Representatives | $9.70 | $13.19 | $15.25 |
| Cutting, Punching, & Press Machine Setters, Operators | $10.31 | $12.93 | $15.13 |
| First Line Supervisors/Managers of Production | $17.80 | $23.99 | $29.51 |
| Food Preparation Workers | $8.11 | $8.75 | $9.45 |
| Heating, A/C, & Refrigeration Mechanics/ Installers | $12.63 | $16.14 | $18.69 |
| Industrial Machinery Mechanics | $13.13 | $16.53 | $18.49 |
| Industrial Production Managers | $26.58 | $40.45 | $46.56 |
| Laborers & Freight, Stock & Material Movers | $8.28 | $10.59 | $12.52 |
| Machinists | $9.81 | $14.63 | $17.69 |
| Molding, Coremaking, Casting Machine Setters | $7.98 | $10.92 | $12.39 |
| Office Clerks, General | $8.14 | $10.67 | $13.35 |
| Sales Managers | $29.44 | $51.10 | $63.73 |
| Sheet Metal Workers | $12.88 | $15.88 | $18.51 |
| Truck Drivers, Heavy & Tractor-Trailer | $11.19 | $14.93 | $19.26 |
| Welders, Cutters, Solderers, & Brazers | $12.00 | $15.93 | $19.20 |
Sources: Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Labor Market Statistics, 2011 Wage Data
2011 Marion County Worker Classification – Ocala MSA
| Employment Population by Class of Worker | |
| For-Profit Private Workers | 84,050++ |
| Non-Profit Private Workers | 6,459++ |
| Local Government Workers | 13,900 |
State Government Workers | 2,600 |
| Federal Government Workers | 700 |
| Self-employed Workers | 10,790* |
| Unpaid Family Workers | 146* |
| Employment Population by Occupation | |
| Architect/Engineer | 1,564 |
| Arts/Entertainment/Sports | 1,633 |
| Building Grounds Maintenance | 6,291 |
| Business and Financial Operations | 4,661 |
| Community/Social Services | 1,893 |
| Computer/Mathematical | 1,131 |
| Construction, Extraction | 7,917 |
| Education/Training/Library | 9,109 |
| Farming, Fishery and Forestry | 1,706 |
| Food Preparation/Serving | 12,555 |
| Health Practitioner/Tech | 9,759 |
| Healthcare Support | 6,723 |
| Legal | 969 |
| Life/Phys/Social Science | 171 |
| Maintenance Repair | 6,202 |
| Management | 4,235 |
| Office/Administrative Support | 25,907 |
| Personal Care/Service | 5,757 |
| Production | 6,020 |
| Protective Services | 4,285 |
| Sales/Related | 18,530 |
| Transportation/Moving | 7,768 |
| Employment Population by Occupation Classification | |
| Blue Collar | 26,998++ |
| White Collar | 70,724++ |
| Service and Farm | 27,399++ |
Sources: Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Labor Market Statistics Center, Occupational Employment Statistics, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, released March 2012, ++The Nielsen Company 2012 *Includes Citrus and Levy Counties
2010 Marion County Average Earnings Per Worker by Industry
| Accommodation and Food Services | $14,515 |
| Administrative and Waste Services | $21,991 |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting | $26,971 |
| Construction | $32,108 |
| Educational Services | $27,735 |
| Finance and Insurance | $44,597 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | $40,986 |
| Information | $39,032 |
| Arts, Entertainment and Recreation | $20,087 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | $44,159 |
| Manufacturing | $45,156 |
| Professional and Technical Services | $42,454 |
| Public Administration** | $38,799 |
| Real Estate, Rental and Leasing | $30,031 |
| Retail Trade | $23,895 |
| Transportation and Warehousing | $37,122 |
| Wholesale Trade | $40,983 |
| Other Services | $23,500 |
| Total Government | $38,983 |
| Federal Government | $46,920 |
| State Government | $34,296 |
| Local Government | $39,317 |
| County-wide Average All Industries | $32,997 |
Sources: Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Labor Market Statistics Center, quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Program, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, released October 2011
**includes Public Administration provided by Government
Unemployment Rate – Ocala MSA
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| Jan | 4.0 | 4.6 | 6.4 | 5.8 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 6.0 | 11.6 | 15.4 | 14.2 | 11.4 |
| Feb | 3.9 | 4.6 | 6.2 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 6.0 | 12.3 | 15.5 | 13.2 | 10.8 |
| Mar | 3.8 | 4.5 | 5.9 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 6.2 | 12.2 | 15.0 | 12.5 | 10.3 |
| Apr | 3.6 | 4.6 | 5.9 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 6.1 | 11.8 | 13.9 | 12.1 | 9.7 |
| May | 3.9 | 4.4 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 6.9 | 12.1 | 13.6 | 12.0 | 9.8 |
| Jun | 4.4 | .5.0 | 6.3 | 6.1 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 7.6 | 12.6 | 13.9 | 12.6 | 10.2 |
| Jul | 4.3 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 5.7 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 8.1 | 12.6 | 14.1 | 12.8 | 10.6 |
| Aug | 4.4 | 5.0 | 6.1 | 5.6 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 5.0 | 8.7 | 13.0 | 14.5 | 12.7 | 10.1 |
| Sep | 4.2 | 4.5 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 5.0 | 8.6 | 13.4 | 14.3 | 12.4 | |
| Oct | 4.0 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 4.9 | 8.8 | 13.4 | 13.8 | 11.8 | |
| Nov | 4.0 | 5.9 | 5.6 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 5.1 | 9.6 | 13.9 | 14.6 | 11.8 | |
| Dec | 3.8 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 5.5 | 10.1 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 11.6 | |
| Annual Average | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 7.7 | 12.75 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.4 |
Sources:U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics Program in cooperation with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Labor Market Statistics Center