As we are mid-way through August, we continue to finish the planning of events for this year. Shortly we will be convening the Legislative Affairs committee to finalize the FEDC 2015 Legislative Agenda. While we have been convening separate working groups to address the Enterprise Zones, we will be looking to our members to help provide additional input. Many of you have already been providing input to both FEDC and EFI and we hope to finalize our agenda’s later next month.
On another note, please don’t forget the Future of Florida Forum, September 29 – October 1
at the Disney Yacht Club. FEDC, Enterprise Florida, Space Florida, CareerSource Florida and many other statewide partners will be holding their meetings as well on September 29
. The meetings will be held at the Disney Yacht Club Convention Center. For the entire agenda of the Future of Florida Forum:
Putnam County Chamber is ACCE Chamber of the Year!
Chamber of the Year is the nation’s only award recognizing the dual role chambers have in leading businesses and communities. Chambers honored with the Chamber of the Year designation have not only demonstrated organizational strength, but also have made an impact on key community priorities, such as education, transportation, business development and quality of life. Winners of the 2014 Chamber of the Year were announced at ACCE’s Annual Convention, Aug. 12-15 in Cincinnati. FEDC congratulates the Putnam Chamber on their well-deserved recognition by the ACCE!
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Florida’s July Employment Figures Released
Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in July 2014, unchanged from the June 2014 rate of 6.2 percent, and down 1.1 percentage points from 7.3 percent a year ago. There were 597,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of 9,611,000. The U.S. unemployment rate was also 6.2 percent in July. Florida’s unemployment rate has been less than or equal to the national rate for 14 of the last 15 months. Florida’s seasonally adjusted total nonagricultural employment was 7,795,900 in July 2014, a decrease of 1,600 jobs (less than -0.1 percent) over the month. Compared to July a year ago, the number of jobs in the state was up by 208,500, an increase of 2.7 percent. Nationally, the number of jobs was up 1.9 percent over the year. Florida’s annual job growth rate has exceeded the nation’s rate since April 2012.
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Lee County Hopes To Lure Company Wanting Satellite Office For 50 High-Wage Jobs
Lee County is in the running for a corporate expansion project that could bring in at least 50 high-wage jobs. On Tuesday, county commissioners will consider a grant request for up to $240,000 to help lure the project — an expansion of an unnamed company’s back-office operations. Such operations can include behind-the-scenes functions such as accounting, marketing and human resources. "Every time we have an opportunity to bring a new business to the community it’s important to us," Rick Michael, executive director of Lee’s Economic Development Office said. "Every time you bring in a new business you are bringing new dollars into the market. You are creating opportunities for jobs for people. You’re creating opportunities for homes to be sold, and all the other things to go with that."
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Enterprise Florida Board Meeting Focuses On Record Year For Economic Development In State
Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) held its third Board of Directors meeting of 2014 on August 7th, the first of fiscal year 2014-15. The meeting focused on continuous improvement and recapped the most successful fiscal year yet for economic development in Florida. During the meeting, Secretary of Commerce and president & CEO of EFI, Gray Swoope, recapped EFI’s fiscal year 2013-14 results. Secretary Swoope said, "Teamwork and relationship building are critical to being successful in economic development. Thanks to our partners at the local and state levels, we saw record numbers across the board last year. Since the 2010-11 fiscal year, total established jobs are up 84 percent and capital investments are up 150 percent. I’m proud of the work we’ve done and look forward to more success in the coming year." By working with its community partners, EFI’s activities have championed Florida as a premier destination for business expansion, location and relocation, and have created renewed interest in the state both nationally and internationally. EFI Board of Directors Vice-Chair, Brett Couch, shared his thoughts on the work done in FY12-13. "I’m very proud of the accomplishments made by EFI and its partners in the last fiscal year. Enterprise Florida is a model for economic development organizations around the nation and it's a pleasure to serve on a board that oversees what this organization does for the state."
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Registration Closes August 22 for Enterprise Florida Delegation For Global Logistics Trade Show In Brazil
Enterprise Florida (EFI) will lead a delegation of Florida-based logistics and distribution companies to Movimat + Transport & Logistics in Brazil from September 16-18. The two co-located trade shows will provide Florida companies with networking opportunities and face-to-face appointments with the top businesses in this leading global marketplace. EFI Senior Vice President of International Trade & Development Manny Mencia said, "Participating in this trip will provide companies with tremendous exposure. As the gateway to Latin America, Florida's logistics and distribution industry is poised to grow further with the Panama Canal expansion, and the numerous infrastructure developments and upgrades underway around the state. This trade show in Brazil is another great opportunity for Florida companies to expand globally."
Registration for the trade show closes August 22
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Lee County Hopes To Lure Company Wanting Satellite Office For 50 High-Wage Jobs
Lee County is in the running for a corporate expansion project that could bring in at least 50 high-wage jobs. On Tuesday, county commissioners will consider a grant request for up to $240,000 to help lure the project — an expansion of an unnamed company’s back-office operations. Such operations can include behind-the-scenes functions such as accounting, marketing and human resources. "Every time we have an opportunity to bring a new business to the community it’s important to us," Rick Michael, executive director of Lee’s Economic Development Office said. "Every time you bring in a new business you are bringing new dollars into the market. You are creating opportunities for jobs for people. You’re creating opportunities for homes to be sold, and all the other things to go with that."
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Tribridge To Add 200 IT Jobs In Tampa By 2016
ampa-based technology services company Tribridge plans to add up to 200 local jobs, nearly doubling its Tampa workforce by 2016 with the assistance of $1 million in government subsidies. Most of the new jobs are expected to come in two areas. he first is cloud computing, a Tribridge division that has grown by more than 100 percent a year for three years. It has clients in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe, but everyone in the division is in the Tampa Bay area. The second is what Tribridge calls “human capital management,” a suite of automated, cloud-based personnel services such as recruiting, corporate training and performance management. We’re creating a brand in the world that Tampa is a high-tech place," DiBenedetto said. Forty of the new hires are expected this year, with 70 in 2015 and 90 in 2016, according to the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. The hiring is expected to drive a $1.8 million investment in IT hardware and facilities.
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Brazil Tourism to U.S. to Increase 50 Percent by 2018
It’s no secret that the Great Recession hit Florida hard, but international tourism helped put some sunshine back into the state’s economy over the last four years. 2013 was a record year for Florida’s tourism sector, with an impressive 94.7 million tourists visiting the state over the course of the year, according to Visit Florida. The figure marked an increase of 3.5% over the previous year and followed a trend that has seen Florida rocket to second place (beaten only by New York) in terms of annual international visitor volume. The rising tourist numbers have done much to support Florida’s economic recovery, with the impact of their expenditure flowing through into 2014. The latest figures from Washington Economics Group show a 6.4% increase in spending in the Sunshine State’s tourism and recreation industry since last year. Brazilian tourists account for a large proportion of the growth in Florida’s visitor numbers, as they did for many other US destinations over the course of 2013. Data from the US Department of Commerce shows a 15% overall increase in Brazilian visitors to the US from 2012 to 2013, while the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries is projecting a 50% increase in Brazilian tourists by 2018. Florida’s main markets for Brazilian tourist are Miami and Orlando. Driving these two Florida tourism markets for Brazilians are the beach lifestyle, plentiful high-end shopping and real estate opportunities of Miami, and Walt Disney World in Orlando for their kids.
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Weddle: Advanced Manufacturing Center To Create 20,000 Direct Jobs In 10 Years
Rick Weddle, president and CEO of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission, said at an EDC event Aug. 12 that economic modeling for the Florida Advanced Manufacturing Research Center is predicting the creation of 20,000 direct jobs in 10 years and 80,000 net new jobs, counting indirect. "The payroll would be a historic level," Weddle said. "That would increase the size of our region by about 8 percent." The Osceola County Commission committed 20 acres of land and $61 million in cash for the center in June. Overall, the center — expected to cost $200 million to $250 million — has also received $49 million in in-kind support from government officials in Osceola County, and $10 million in cash and $7 million in in-kind support from the University of Central Florida. The project will also get $1.9 million in quick action closing funds from the state and would create 250 direct jobs.
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Harper Expects Good Economic Outlook For Florida
In this week’s Economic Report, Dr. Rick Harper discusses the meeting of state economists this week in Tallahassee. Florida has an office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) that reports on the economy to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House. EDR staff updates the economic outlook a couple times a year, with a final estimate next March in advance of the next legislative session. Harper, who has just completed a two-year term as Senior Economic Policy Advisor to the Florida Senate, expects a fairly good forecast. He notes an upswing in economic activity, as the state continues to rebound from the Great Recession at a stronger pace than other states such as Arizona, Michigan, California and Nevada that were clobbered by the economic downturn. As an example, in June of this year, Florida recorded an increase of 3.1% in employment over June of 2013. The nation’s employment rate grew at a rate of 2.1%.
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REMINDER: North Florida Economic Development Academy – Sept 15 & 16 + Oct 9 & 10
The North Florida Economic Development Academy (EDA) is a comprehensive, four (4) day program designed to provide a basic understanding of the concepts and methods of Economic Development, and to help local communities build stronger community sales teams who are better able to recognize, prepare for, and respond to opportunities. Participants will walk away with an understanding of the rules and roles that guide the development process, ethical considerations, and critical best practices. Scholarships are made available through the NFEDP’s Regional Rural Development Grant provided by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and the generous investments from our Corporate and Public Agency partners! The conference will be held September 15-16 and October 6-7, 2014 at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites in Tallahassee. Florida Registration is limited to thirty participants. Priority will be given to economic development professionals and elected officials.
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JetBlue May Land In Bay County
Officials at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) are hopeful a federal transportation grant will be the key to harnessing daily air service from Bay County to New York City, and one airline already has signed on to support the effort. ECP Director Parker McClellan said a letter of support from low-cost airline JetBlue will give the Airport Authority some teeth as it seeks funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Small Community Air Service Development Grant, designed to help small communities address issues with air service and airfare. McClellan said the addition also could have a significant impact on economic development around the airport, which recently has been stifled by declining passenger numbers, seasonal flight adjustments and fare increases. "The New York metropolitan area and the northeast U.S. in general are a large and important target market for both our business community and tourism sector,” McClellan wrote in a letter to the DOT. “We believe that the addition of a new low-cost carrier at the airport serving this market would have a significant positive impact in our community."
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