NORTHWEST FLORIDA HAS SEEN HEALTHY JOB GROWTH

Folks, stand by. Job growth. It is my belief from what I know, you haven't seen anything yet. As the F-35 Training Squadron begins to order their folks into the area on the heels of the standing up of the 7th Special Forces, and more construction for both commercial/residential takes off, our job growth will grow tremendously from the restaurant workers to the scientist and engineers. So if you are thinking about investing, think about one of the major bright spots in the country.

Note to Self: Army 7th Special Forces Group operational in Northwest Florida, however, many the families have not made the move, YET.

Region has seen healthy job growth
That comes despite hurricanes, recession and the oil spill, economist Rick Harper says
By DUSTY RICKETTS
Northwest Florida Daily News 315-4448 dricketts@nwfdailynews.com  
SANDESTIN — Despite hurricanes, a worldwide recession and last year’s oil spill, Northwest Florida has seen healthy job growth the past decade. The Fort Walton Beach and Panama City areas each have experienced about 15 percent job growth from 2000 to today, said Rick Harper, executive director of the office of Economic Development and Engagement at the University of West Florida. The Pensacola and Tallahassee areas had about 5 percent more jobs in the same time period, he noted. Harper spoke Tuesday during the second and final day of the 2011 Gulf Power Economic Symposium. While a large portion of Monday’s speakers focused on economic issues facing the state and nation, most of Tuesday’s discussions focused on Northwest Florida. “Panama City and Fort Walton Beach are really the Energizer bunnies of the Northwest Florida economy,” said Harper. “They just keep growing and growing.” Harper contrasted Northwest Florida to the Mobile, Ala., area, which is about flat in job growth over the past 11 years. In the 16-county region of Florida’s Great Northwest, 43 percent of all jobs are supported by the government, which Harper characterized as high-earning positions. That percentage is much higher than the state average of 19 percent of jobs because of the large military presence. Tourism accounts for 9 percent of all the jobs in the region, despite that only half of the counties are along the coast. “The challenge in the visitors sector is that those jobs tend not to be as well paid as the excellent jobs driven by military, defense spending and contracting,” Harper said. “Still, it’s a large part of the economy, not quite as many (tourism) jobs as in the rest of Florida, but a substantial level.” Another large source of income was retirees, which is the top source of revenue for Florida as a whole but placed second in Northwest Florida because the region skews younger than the state average. However, that could be changing. Harper said much of the population growth in the region in the next five years is expected to come from retirees. “We have to figure out what are the best business opportunities to ser ve them,” Harper said. Manufacturing currently only accounts for 3 percent of the jobs in the region.
In the next five years, Harper projected military occupations would grow only about 1 percent. Retail jobs, which are dependent on tourism, are projected to grow by 10 percent. Harper said he also expects larger job growth to occur as the construction and goods and services markets recover.
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