from staff
As the national recession dampened the economy from December 2007 to June 2009, the occupational structure in metropolitan Jacksonville changed.
The percentage of people employed in specific occupations in the civilian labor force rose and fell as a result.
Some of the larger percentage changes came in service occupations, where the percentage of employment rose, and in construction-related occupations, where the employment percentage fell.
The classes of workers stayed relatively stable as the percentage of workers in private and government occupations changed just slightly, as did the percentage of workers self-employed. Those who work as unpaid family workers remained stable.
This is part of a series of Jacksonville facts from the U.S. Census Bureau that the Daily Record will publish over the coming days.
Occupations and worker class
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released its American Community Survey for 2009. The survey produces population, demographic and housing unit estimates.
Here are some of the economic characteristics for the Jacksonville metro area of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties.
| Occupation | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| Management, professional | 33.4% | 34.5% | 35.2% |
| Service occupations | 16.2% | 16.6% | 18.2% |
| Sales and office occupations | 28.9% | 29.2% | 28.6% |
| Farming, fishing and forestry | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| Construction, extraction, maintenance, repair | 11.2% | 9.9% | 8.3% |
| Production, transportation, material-moving | 10.1% | 9.7% | 9.3% |
| Class of worker | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| Private wage and salary workers | 81.6% | 83% | 81.9% |
| Government | 13.7% | 12.9% | 13.1% |
| Self-employed in own business, not incorporated | 4.6% | 4.1% | 4.9% |
| Unpaid family workers | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |