"We had teachers who couldn’t find places to live — people in caring professions, like firefighters, who couldn’t find a home. People asked, ‘What do you do about affordable housing?’ Well, now we’ve got affordable housing." — Jim Moore, director of the Lee County Economic Development Office
Sarasota / Sarasota County
|
See population, income and job statistics from this region.
Explore
|
University of Michigan economist Donald Grimes, who recently offered a detailed analysis of Sarasota County’s economic outlook, predicts the federal stimulus package will stabilize the job market in 2010. Gary Jackson, director of the Regional Economic Research Institute at Florida Gulf Coast University’s College of Business, expects the recession to continue through most of this year, with an uptick in business activity in the winter.
Jim Moore’s Lee County Office of Economic Development manages a $25-million initiative designed to lure companies and help existing businesses. [Photo: Jason P. Smith] |
The UM analysis also noted that Sarasota "remains perilously dependent on the construction industry as a source of jobs." In 2007, construction accounted for 9.9% of all jobs in Sarasota, nearly double construction’s share in the broader U.S. economy. On the other hand, the local economy enjoys a relatively large share of jobs in health and social services and leisure and hospitality and a healthy share of jobs in information, financial activities, professional and technical services and corporate managing offices.
One of the area’s "strongest assets," the Michigan report notes, is its thriving arts community, which the economists think the area should better use to attract tourism, wealthy retirees and educated workers.
Meanwhile, in a move to protect local workers, the city adopted a policy to hire local laborers for city construction projects; county leaders are pushing to institute a similar labor ordinance countywide. And the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce kicked off an initiative called Sarasota Tomorrow that fast-tracks public projects and provides technical and other assistance to local businesses.
Businesses to Watch
» With 2008 sales of almost $100 million, IntegraClick, a Sarasota-based internet marketing company, has grown 20,000% in the last four years. The company relies on a "cost-per-action" model, meaning that an advertiser doesn’t pay IntegraClick unless "our customer makes a sale," explains Ravi Ghai, vice president of corporate development. The company tripled its staff last year and is still hiring. January was the company’s most profitable month ever, says Ghai, and the company is "hoping to double our revenue this year."
People to Watch
»
When popular social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn began to take off several years ago, Bill Jula noticed there were no networks devoted to marketing and sales professionals. In 2006, he and business partner Rich Swier launched Fast Pitch! (fastpitchnetworking.com) to serve those groups. Business leaders throughout Sarasota County, including the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and the Venice Chamber of Commerce, have recently partnered with Fast Pitch! to help area businesses learn how to leverage social networking to grow and market their businesses. Because the venture is subsidized by a grant from the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, every business in Sarasota County can now make unlimited connections and use more than 30 marketing tools to promote their business for free.
1 2 3 4 5 [ next ] |
email this article
printable format
