Friday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 10/19/2012

Florida's unemployment rate drops slightly in September

Florida's unemployment rate was 8.7 percent in September, down slightly from 8.8 percent a month earlier, marking the first time in three months that the rate had dropped. The rate remains just above the recent low of 8.6 percent in May. Read more from the Tampa Bay Times and the Department of Economic Opportunity.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Downtown Miami Portrait

People are living in downtown Miami -- really living. More than 70,000, mostly young professionals, now call downtown Miami home, up more than 70% from a decade ago.

» Downtown Miami Portrait

State tries to recoup part of millions it gave Digital Domain studio

The state's Department of Economic Opportunity said it wants to try to get back at least some of the money it gave Digital Domain to help persuade it to establish operations in Port St. Lucie, according to a legislative budget request. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Long in the red, Jackson Health System finishes this year in the black

In a major turnaround, Jackson Health System finished in the black for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the chief financial officer said Thursday. After losing $419 million the previous three years, Mark Knight said year-end financial adjustments mean Jackson, the safety net hospital for Miami-Dade County’s poor and uninsured, will show a slight surplus for the year. [Source: Miami Herald]

» FRIDAY PREVIEW: Coming next week to FloridaTrend.com:

Seeing Green: Newcomer First Green Bank is thriving.
Banking Template: Gary Tice returns to community banking.
Slow to Recover: A struggling economy over the past five years triggered the failure of eight banks in Northwest Florida.
Business Profile: Safariland makes body armor and other protective equipment for law enforcement and military customers.

» You'll find all these stories first on the Daily and Afternoon Pulse e-mails.

High Demand on the High Seas

Multimillion dollar Merritt yacht could be the envy of the boat show

It's a problem every boat company at next week's Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show would love to have. The sportfishermen built by Merritt's Boat & Engine Works are so in demand that the company will have only one used 53-foot Merritt for sale at the Bahia Mar Yachting Center, and it might not be available for long. It's not because the family-owned Pompano Beach company is giving the boats away. Full story and video at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.