Table 13. The percent of employees in manufacturing in the counties of South- 

 west Florida and the State total, and the percent change of employment in 

 manufacturing from 1970 to 1980 (Florida Department of Commerce, Division of 

 Economic Development 1980). 



Percent contribution Percent change in employment 

 County to the State total in manufacturing 



Charlotte 2.1 75.1 



Collier 2.9 139.5 



DeSoto 4.2 -3.4 



Hillsborough 12.7 16.1 



Lee 5.2 108.6 



Manatee 13.3 41.7 



Monroe 3.1 75.7 



Pasco 7.9 73.5 



Pinellas 11.7 36.5 



Sarasota 7.7 60.7 



Florida 11.1 



DeSoto County 



In 1979, DeSoto County had only about 2,300 employees in non-agricultural 

 activities. The largest share (36.7%) was in retail trade; manufacturing 

 accounted for about 17%. 



Hillsborough County 



Hillsborough County is the most industrialized county in the region, how- 

 ever, employment in manufacturing still ranked behind employment in services 

 and in retail trade. Government employment probably would have ranked rela- 

 tively high if the data were available. 



Lee County 



The major employment categories in Lee County in 1979 were in retail 

 trade and services, followed by construction, finance, insurance, real estate, 

 and manufacturing. Retail trade and services reflect the importance of 

 recreation and retirement to the economy of the county. This is a rapidly 

 growing county, and continual increases in manufacturing would help to diver- 

 sify its economic base. 



Manatee County 



Like most Southwest Florida counties. Manatee County ranked one and two 

 in number of employees in retail trade and services, manufacturing accounted 

 for a relatively sizeable proportion (16%) of the non-agricultural employment. 



69 



