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Florida's Economic Yearbook 2012

Click for an Interactive 2012 Economic Yearbook Map which includes data on population, age, income and more

By all economic indicators, Florida is bouncing back. Visitor counts are up from the Panhandle to Miami. The supply of homes for sale is approaching more typical levels — home sales in Miami hit a record last year. Companies are hiring, expanding and relocating throughout the state. Consumer bankruptcies are down — in most regions by double digits. Manufacturing is getting stronger in the Southwest and Southeast and in other regions as well. But the nascent recovery is fragile. Read more about Florida's economy and see the first Economic Yearbook installment:

» Economic Indicators for Miami-Dade and Monroe County

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Family bonding is even more important when times are tough

Experts say when it comes to teens, prosocial behavior — today’s hot term for selfless deeds that benefit family, friends and community — is an important marker for success in high school and beyond.

Publisher's Column: State of the State
For the 44th consecutive year, Florida Trend presents its annual Economic Yearbook, a special issue highlighting the economic condition of each of the state's 67 counties. Executives around the state often use the yearbook as the basis for speeches. More...	Andy Corty, Publisher

Thing is, researchers are now reporting that middle-class and upper middle-class parents who are depressed over money problems can disconnect from their teens who, in turn, withdraw from the kind of altruistic activities that, in the end, help those teens most of all. [Source: Miami Herald]

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Condo buyers risk losses again, analysts caution

If you're in the market to buy or sell in a high-rise, be careful. Some experts see another condo collapse on the horizon. More than two dozen condominium projects, including five in Broward and Palm Beach counties, are being added to the South Florida skyline in the next few years, according to CondoVultures.com, a consulting firm. By the end of 2012, as many as 10,000 units could be in the planning stages. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

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Big-ticket purchases making flashy comeback

The rich are back. From hot cars to expensive jewelry and luxury boats to high-end homes, Southwest Florida's wealthy are spending again, putting the "conspicuous" back into conspicuous consumption. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

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Assorted grocery stores finding a niche in South Florida

Even when budgets are tight and gas prices are high, people have got to eat. Lucky for South Florida, shoppers have an abundance of choices when it comes to grocery stores. In recent years, supermarket chains like Publix, Whole Foods, Winn-Dixie and Aldi, among others, have expanded throughout Palm Beach and Broward counties. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

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ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Sherwood Hardware holds off big box stores with old school service [Florida Times-Union]
The Sherwood Hardware store at the corner of Moncrief and Soutel roads in Jacksonville doesn’t have air conditioning. There are no fancy big box store signs. Families have been using the store for generations. The small, mostly wooden structure is easy to miss if you don’t know what you’re looking for. But the “we strive harder to please” slogan painted on the south side of the building is the calling card for the store that’s been in operation for a half century.

› Hurricane coming? Palm Beach County may be creating an app for that [Palm Beach Post]
If you're wondering when a storm might hit, or whether you should evacuate, that information might soon just be a phone app away. Palm Beach County already has a web-based tool for reporting damage after the storm. Now it is testing that as a phone app.

› Bidding wars break out over Tampa Bay area homes [Tampa Bay Times]
Last month, Barry Barker put his home in New Tampa on the market. He expected it would take six months to land a buyer. The house sold in six days. Two dozen people toured the property, producing six offers. All of them matched or topped Barker's asking price of $225,000.

› How local leaders brought MindTree to Gainesville [Gainesville Sun]
This past Nov. 29 at 2:14 p.m., an executive from MindTree Limited made first contact in Gainesville by emailing the computer science chairman at the University of Florida College of Engineering. That started a months-long process, codenamed Project Arbor, that culminated in Tuesday's announcement that the India-based software development firm had selected Gainesville for its first U.S. development center.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Pet Supermarket CEO makes stores fashionable [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
A South Florida businesswoman has landed on top of an annual ranking of Florida's women-owned companies. Diane Holtz, president of Pet Supermarket, said she redesigned the stores in the Sunrise-based pet store chain to be "what women want in shopping:" clean, colorful and featuring new products each week.

› Developer, architect turning missile silo into condos built to handle Armageddon [Florida Today]
If you’re wealthy and more than a little fearful about the end of the world, Larry Hall has the place for you. Hall, a Florida Tech graduate and former Harris Corp. manager who became a communications company entrepreneur, can set you up in an 1,800-square-foot condominium built in a decommissioned missile silo in the middle of the desolate Kansas prairie. Price: $2 million.

› PortMiami eyes commercial development, yacht marina [Miami Herald]
Officials envision rounding out the port’s cruise and cargo businesses with a fancy hotel, an office complex and an inner harbor for mega-yachts that would link the port with downtown’s Bayside and Museum Park.

› At Tampa Bay Partnership, high pay but debatable results [Tampa Tribune]
At a time when the economy has forced some local governments to slash their workforces, a publicly funded economic development group quietly has boosted its leader's compensation by more than $110,000 since 2006.

› Changes cut Disney's tax bill $1.8M over 2 years [Orlando Sentinel]
It was the summer of 2010 and profit margins were down at Walt Disney World. The giant resort had been forced to reduce prices amid a weak economy. Managers were searching for ways to trim costs. One place they found? Their property-tax bill.

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