ECONOMIST HIGH ON JOB GROWTH IN OKALOOSA COUNTY

Things are getting brighter every day. Having attended this speaking engagement, it was quite clear excitement was in the air. But many of the contractors would be quick to say, I have requests to build homes and other commercial project, but the banks are not lending capital to help get them started. Line of credits have become non-existent to many contractors, no matter how strong their history. This problem seems to radiate throughout the room and they noted, alternative financing is being sought. It will be interesting how this plays out. Banks make money by lending. If they don’t lend soon, they will die a slow death.

Economist touts local job growth
By DUSTY RICKETTS
Northwest Florida Daily News 315-4448 dricketts@nwfdailynews.com  
NICEVILLE — Between the recession and the 2010 oil spill, economist Rick Harper hasn’t had much good news to share the past four years. That changed Thursday morning when he was one of the guest speakers at the Building Industry Association of Okaloosa & Walton Counties’ 2012 Economic and Housing Forecast Breakfast. Harper, director of the University of West Florida’s Office of Economic Development and Engagement, said the past three months have been very strong for job growth in Okaloosa County. For November, the latest month that data is available, the county had more than 93,500 jobs, which was up about 5,000 jobs from the previous year. “This is a happy economic forecast,” Harper said. “The last four years have been unmitigated misery, but as I sat down and looked at the data for today, I’m happy to say this is the brightest economic outlook I’ve done in the last four years.” Walton County also has seen strong job growth, Harper said. In the past decade, the county has grown from about 18,000 jobs to about 29,000 jobs. However, both counties still are below their peak employment during the boom years, when Okaloosa County had 97,000 jobs and Walton County had 31,000. Harper said one area in Northwest Florida that continues to struggle is local banking. He said local banks usually operate with a 4 percent loss margin on their loans, but the crash in the housing market has resulted in loss margin of about 14 percent. National banks returned to profitability at the end of 2009, Harper said. Florida banks returned to profitability at the beginning of 2011. However, the 19 regional banks chartered between Baldwin County, Ala., and Bay County have yet to return to profitability. Despite the challenges, Harper said local banks have started to rebound. “The good news is they look a heck of a lot better than they did a couple of years ago when they were generating a return on investments in the negative 4 to 5 percent range,” Harper said. “Things are getting better, but you have a ways to go before you get a return to health.”