Lutgert College of Business in the News | |
This is the text of a story in the Fort Myers News-Press of November 12, 2009. November 12, 2009 Although Lee County tumbled from 120th to 180th nationally in a jobs index released Wednesday, one economics expert believes the negative trend may not hold. “We’re probably going to see some growth and move up in the index over time,” said Gary Jackson, director of the Regional Economic Research Institute at FGCU. Lee County fell 60 spots in the 2009 Milken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners Best-Performing Cities Index. Jackson said Lee County lost about 41,000 jobs from December 2007 to September 2009, when Lee County’s unemployment rate was 13.9 percent. Jackson said the data in the report goes through March 2009. The Milken report ranks metropolitan areas based on ability to create and sustain jobs. “It makes sense that we would fall in the rankings,” Jackson said. Jackson said the housing bubble and high unemployment contributed to the rankings. Officials from the Lee County Economic Development Office, whose mission is to create jobs, could not be reached Wednesday. Florida cities dominated the report’s list of biggest “decliners.” The Fort Myers-Cape Coral fall of 60 spots didn’t make the report’s list 20 biggest decliners. Twelve of the top 20 and 11 of the top 16 are Florida cities. “Much of the economic growth through mid-decade in these metros was driven by residential and commercial construction activity, and this sector has ground to a halt,” the report noted. “Several of these metros are also dependent on travel and tourism, which plunged late last year.” Tony Phelan, founder of the Pinchers Crab Shack chain of seven Southwest Florida restaurants, employs 350 people and has felt the pain of the recession. He said Pinchers has laid off about 10 people in the past year and is limiting hours. “We are trying to maximize the people that we have,” Phelan said. “We’re asking them to accept more responsibility.” Sales are off about 7 percent over last year, Phelan said. Although the past year has not been a good one, Lee County performed better over the five year period of 2002-2007, ranking second in a five-year wage and salary growth and 24th in five-year job growth. The biggest decline in the state was posted by Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent in the Florida Panhandle, which fell 124 spots, from 33rd in 2008 to 157th. Other area on Florida’s west coast also ranked high. The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area ranked fifth, falling 89 spots, from 80th to 169th. Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice is ninth, falling 79 spots, from 97th to 176th. Naples-Marco Island is 13th, dropping 72 spots, from 83rd to 155. |