Job Market Outlook for Chefs Working in Florida
Job Market Outlook July 9, 2014A chef will execute, manage, and plan the preparation of meals and recipes. He is also in charge with of the recipe research, the dish design, the recipe experimentation, and the menu planning. At the same time, a chef has the duty to train and manage the employees and supervise the food preparation. Last, but not least, these professionals must make sure that the kitchen supplies and equipment comply with the sanitary and regulatory standards.
If you are looking to become a chef in a state like Florida, you should first know the prospects of the market and see if it’s worth it or not to pursue a career as a chef in Florida.
National Occupational Outlook
Before analyzing the chef job outlook in Florida, let us first look at the national prospects for this career. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment for head cooks and chefs will grow by 5% until 2022. This growth is rather slow as compared to other occupations.
The same source reports that the strongest competition will be for jobs at high-end casinos, hotels, and restaurants because they pay more. In order to have the best prospects for a career as a chef, you should attain a combination of creativity, previous work experience, and business skills.
In what regards to the salary, you should know that a chef earned almost $42,480 per year, as of 2012. The top four industries in the United States are restaurants with $39,790 annually, special food services with $42,960 per year, recreation and amusement industries with $47,490 annually, and traveler accommodation with $48,210 per annum. Also, almost 13% of the head cooks and chefs are self-employed.
Job Prospects in Florida
The chef job outlook in Florida looks quite promising. Florida has one of the highest employment levels, and it is accompanied by states like Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, and California. As of May 2013, there were almost 5,590 chefs working in Florida with an hourly mean wage of $24.84.
We cannot talk about the chef job outlook in Florida without mentioning the annual average salary, which is approximately $51,660. The highest paid chefs can be found in District of Columbia ($60,590 per year), Connecticut ($57,630 per year), and New York ($57,370 per year).
The location quotient in Florida is quite small as compared to other states. This number is somewhere between 0.80 and 1.25 in the state of Florida, while for states like Connecticut, Vermont, Hawaii, District of Columbia, and Nevada, it exceeds 1.50.
The metropolitan areas in Florida with the highest concentration of location quotients and jobs in this profession are Marco Island – Naples, and the top paying metropolitan zones are Vero Beach – Sebastian. The people working as chefs in this area can earn up to $64,400 per year, a salary similar to a top chef in New York, earning $64,510 per annum.
So, as you can see, the chef job prospects in Florida are quite good, this state having some of the highest salaries and employment rates in the United States.
