Workforce
A steady supply of skilled workers is available in Marion County, Florida. The entire workforce, including adjoining counties, totals more than 650,000.
Marion County's unemployment rate rose to an average 12.75% during 2009 and has averaged 14.47% during 2010. With a higher number of available workers, new employers can find an eager pool of candidates. 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 development.
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.
- July 2010 County Civilian Labor Workforce 134,653
- July 2010 County Unemployment Rate 14.1%
- July 2010 Florida Unemployment Rate 11.5%
- July 2010 Labor Force of Adjoining Counties 663,096
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.
2010 Industrial Occupational Wage Information – Ocala MSA
| Selected Occupational Title | Entry | Median | Experienced |
| Billing, Posting Clerks & Machine Operators | $10.46 | $13.53 | $15.30 |
| Computer Support Specialists | $13.61 | $17.46 | $19.83 |
| Customer Service Representatives | $9.90 | $13.36 | $15.05 |
| Cutting, Punching, & Press Machine Setters, Operators | $11.34 | $12.69 | $14.79 |
| Extruding & Drawing Machine Setters, Operators | $10.68 | $12.80 | $15.19 |
| First Line Supervisors/Managers of Production | $16.15 | $22.63 | $28.56 |
| Food Preparation Workers | $8.14 | $8.62 | $9.14 |
| Heating, A/C, & Refrigeration Mechanics/ Installers | $13.49 | $15.79 | $19.74 |
| Industrial Machinery Mechanics | $13.25 | $15.79 | $17.90 |
| Industrial Production Managers | $27.71 | $44.83 | $53.49 |
| Laborers & Freight, Stock & Material Movers | $8.89 | $11.43 | $12.37 |
| Machinists | $10.89 | $15.80 | $19.92 |
| Metal Workers & Plastic Workers, All Other | $11.17 | $13.02 | $16.89 |
| Molding, Coremaking, Casting Machine Setters | $9.55 | $15.25 | $16.61 |
| Office Clerks, General | $8.72 | $11.17 | $13.22 |
| Sales Managers | $33.89 | $56.21 | $71.92 |
| Sheet Metal Workers | $11.47 | $15.31 | $16.92 |
| Truck Drivers, Heavy & Tractor-Trailer | $12.42 | $15.30 | $18.64 |
| Welders, Cutters, Solderers, & Brazers | $11.97 | $16.64 | $18.25 |
Source: Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, Labor Market Statistics
2010 Marion County Worker Classification – Ocala MSA
| Employment Population by Class of Worker | |
| For-Profit Private Workers | 93,988 |
| Non-Profit Private Workers | 7,955 |
| Local Government Workers | 14,300* |
State Government Workers | 2,700* |
| Federal Government Workers | 1,600* |
| Self-employed Workers | 10,369 |
| Unpaid Family Workers | 574 |
| Employment Population by Occupation | |
| Architect/Engineer | 1,803 |
| Arts/Entertainment/Sports | 1,941 |
| Building Grounds Maintenance | 5,141 |
| Business and Financial Operations | 3,074 |
| Community/Social Services | 1,312 |
| Computer/Mathematical | 897 |
| Construction, Extraction | 11,304 |
| Education/Training/Library | 5,683 |
| Farming, Fishery and Forestry | 1,658 |
| Food Preparation/Serving | 7,407 |
| Health Pratictioner/Tech | 7,614 |
| Healthcare Support | 3,147 |
| Legal | 907 |
| Life/Phys/Social Science | 495 |
| Maintenance Repair | 6,072 |
| Management | 10,337 |
| Office/Administrative Support | 18,837 |
| Personal Care/Service | 4,551 |
| Production | 5,937 |
| Protective Services | 3,389 |
| Sales/Related | 17,785 |
| Transportation/Moving | 9,004 |
| Employment Population by Occupation Classification | |
| Blue Collar | 32,317 |
| White Collar | 70,685 |
| Service and Farm | 24,782 |
Source: 2010 Claritas MarketPlace projections *Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation
2009 Marion County Average Earnings Per Worker by Industry
| Accommodation and Food Services | $19,668 |
| Administrative and Waste Services | $25,068 |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting | $25,464 |
| Construction | $40,562 |
| Educational Services | $43,495 |
| Finance and Insurance | $43,956 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | $43,140 |
| Information | $36,965 |
| Arts, Entertainment and Recreation | $24,447 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | $52,517 |
| Manufacturing | $38,728 |
| Professional and Technical Services | $49,071 |
| Public Administration* | $38,244 |
| Real Estate, Rental and Leasing | $38,624 |
| Retail Trade | $27,202 |
| Transportation and Warehousing | $38,019 |
| Wholesale Trade | $44,385 |
| Other Services | $29,975 |
| Total Government | $37,478 |
| Federal Government | $49,905 |
| State Government | $35,195 |
| Local Government | $37,235 |
| County-wide Average All Industries | $36,179 |
Source: Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, Labor Market Statistics
*Includes Public Administration provided by Government
Unemployment Rate – Ocala MSA
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | |
| Jan | 5.0 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 6.4 | 5.8 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 6.0 | 11.6 | 15.4 |
| Feb | 4.5 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 6.2 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 6.0 | 12.3 | 15.5 |
| Mar | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 5.9 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 6.2 | 12.2 | 15.0 |
| Apr | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 5.9 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 6.1 | 11.8 | 13.9 |
| May | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 6.9 | 12.1 | 13.6 |
| Jun | 4.8 | 3.9 | 4.4 | .5.0 | 6.3 | 6.1 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 7.6 | 12.6 | 13.9 |
| Jul | 4.8 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 5.7 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 8.1 | 12.6 | 14.1 |
| Aug | 4.4 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 6.1 | 5.6 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 5.0 | 8.7 | 13.0 | |
| Sep | 4.4 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 5.0 | 8.6 | 13.4 | |
| Oct | 4.2 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 4.9 | 8.8 | 13.4 | |
| Nov | 3.9 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 5.9 | 5.6 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 5.1 | 9.6 | 13.9 | |
| Dec | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 5.5 | 10.1 | 14.0 | |
| Annual Average | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 7.7 | 12.75 |
Source: Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, Labor Market Statistics