Hiring reaches six-month high in June; quits also rise

The Labor Department said Wednesday that total hiring rose 2.3 percent to 5.18 million in June, the most in six months and second-highest total since the recession ended in June 2009. Employers posted fewer job openings, but that figure has risen strongly in the past year. And more people quit their jobs. More from the AP and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

See also:
» Private-sector jobs grow faster in Florida
» Need a Job? These 5 Fields Are Hiring Like Crazy
» Advice on leaving a job you enjoy for new opportunity

Top workers buying businesses from retiring boomer bosses

As retiring baby boomers look to sell the small businesses they have run for years, top employees are often becoming the boss. The new owners are likely to be general managers, chief operating officers or foremen who have worked for the company for many years and have the savvy to run the business well. [Source: AP]

Florida leads nation in foreclosures

Florida still leads the nation in completed foreclosures and ranks third for the percentage of distressed properties. Lenders closed on 101,938 foreclosures in Florida during the 12-month period ended in June, accounting for nearly one-fifth of all the foreclosures nationwide. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Most free fitness apps are basically useless, study finds

Downloading a free fitness app may seem like a smart way to get moving, but a new study reveals most fail to measure up to physical activity guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). University of Florida researchers scored apps based on aerobic activity, strength and resistance, and flexibility. [Source: Health.com]

150 million web browsers view Florida shoreline

More than 150 million web browsers have walked on Florida’s beaches via Visit Florida’s website in the past year. The state’s official marketing engine partnered with Google and used its street-view camera to capture 740 miles of Florida’s 825-mile-long shoreline. [Source: Miami Today]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Margaritaville Resort coming to Central Florida [Orlando Sentinel]
Central Florida's getting a little more of that "cheeseburger in paradise" lifestyle with plans to build a new Margaritaville Resort.

› Inc. 5000: Meet the 139 South Florida companies that made the list [South Florida Business Journal]
More than 130 South Florida companies made the cut for the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies in America list, with two local companies named among the 100 fastest-growing ones in the nation.
» See also: Eighteen South Florida companies make Inc. 500 list

› Citizens Property Insurance to move 280,000 policies to other carriers [Florida Times-Union]
The state of Florida has approved the removal of more than 280,000 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

› Topps baseball card company brings digital business to Orlando [Orlando Sentinel]
An iconic trading card company is setting up shop in Orlando. Topps, long known as one of the leading producers of sports cards, will open a development studio downtown by the end of the month.

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› LinguaSys' tech tools acquired by cloud service company Aspect Software [South Florida Business Journal]
Boca Raton-based LinguaSys has sold its technology assets to Aspect Software, a cloud-based consumer service company based in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

› UF Employer Retreat Sheds Insight Into Hiring in Today’s Market [Gainesville Business Report]
Hiring a member of the millennial generation is not as simple as placing an Internet ad, recruiters learned at an Employer Retreat at the University of Florida. And keeping the best ones might be even harder.

› Old Florida classic restaurant, revived [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
More than $1 million later, The Seafood Shack still feels the same to Diana Beck. She's been waiting tables and serving cocktails there almost as long as the fish joint and marina has been standing.

› Tampa Bay's housing market remains a bargain as nation's home prices climb [Tampa Bay Times]
Tampa Bay's median home price enjoyed a bump to $175,000, a brisk 12.2 percent annual gain in the second quarter, but those figures reveal a housing market that remains sharply cheaper than many of its peer metro areas in Florida and the Southeast.