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Economic yearbook 2011
Treasure Coast - Yearbook
Okeechobee County
Okeechobee Population: 41,080 | ||||
Population Growth Rate (2007-11): 0.65% | ||||
Population by Age: | ||||
0-14 |
15-19 | 20-39 | 40-64 | 65+ |
21.0% | 6.7% |
27.1% | 29.3% | 15.9% |
Per Capita Income: $25,957 |
Royal Concrete Concepts has hired 51 since January. [Photo: Royal Concrete Concepts] |
Unemployment in Okeechobee County remains high but is down markedly from its 14.9% peak in August. Tourism and agriculture remain the mainstays of the economy, and the weather this year has affected both: Cold weather harmed the crops but also drove northerners south. West Palm Beach modular home builder Royal Concrete Concepts has hired 51 employees since the beginning of the year, most of them in Okeechobee, where it has an 85-employee plant that makes concrete walls and roofs and entire units for schools, commercial buildings and homes. Royal expects to start shipping the first of 200 homes to Angola in the second quarter and hire 150 to make them.
Brian Cartland |
Reality Bites
Building Permits - |
|
2006 |
4,791 |
2007 |
3,557 |
2008 |
2,336 |
2009 | 2,402 |
2010 |
1,712 |
Okeechobee County Foreclosures |
|
2000 |
150 |
2001 |
161 |
2002 |
175 |
2003 |
167 |
2004 |
170 |
2005 |
150 |
2006 |
152 |
2007 |
272 |
2008 |
460 |
2009 |
617 |
2010 |
410 |
— Bill Pittenger, president, chief economist / JVI Appraisal Division, Lake Mary