Much like in the rest of Florida, the job picture in Jacksonville appears to be improving, albeit slowly. The unemployment rate in November slipped down to 9.4 percent which marks the fourth consecutive month that it has done so. Adjust it seasonally and the rate is 10 percent down from 10.4.

What this means is that the big companies are hiring again, even though December is not normally the time of year when that normally happens. In a typical year, hiring is put off until after the holiday season. 2011 is looking like an exception to this rule. Among the recent big Jacksonville employers are Flagler Hospital, which had more than 50 new jobs at a variety of skill levels ranging from cafeteria staff to highly skilled medical personnel. Waddell & Reed, the finance planning and asset management firm was also hiring, injecting 15 jobs into the Jacksonville economy. Convergys, the relationship management company has 200 openings for workers in its Jacksonville call centers.

Even more good news appears to be on the horizon for Duval county in general and the Jacksonville metro area in particular. Rambaxy Pharmaceuticals, newly awarded rights to make a generic form of the cholesterol drug Lipitor, will be shipping it out of the area roughly 50,000 pharmacies around the country. Their present local warehouse facility employs 45 people and while the company is tentative about how many new hires the Lipitor rights will bring, it is a major development and could lead to a significant number of openings.