A decade after Great Recession started, Floridians still feel economic pinch

Florida’s unemployment rate is near its lowest point in 10 years, at just 4% in August. 1 Even so, 60% of Floridians say they are feeling financial stress in their household, according to the 2017 USF-Nielsen Sunshine State Survey. The biggest threat to Florida’s economy, Floridians say, is the lack of well-paying jobs – and their concerns are on the rise. See the Sunshine State Survey summary and the survey's full data.

Your turn: How much financial stress is your household facing today? (quick poll)

Floridians' consumer confidence shaken by hurricanes

Consumer confidence among Floridians dropped in September as unease over short-term economic conditions rose sharply, according to the University of Florida's monthly consumer sentiment index. See stats at the news release, here. Also read more at the Tampa Bay Times.

Florida Trend Exclusive
Boundless success: Targeted industry sectors

Florida offers businesses across all industries the resources they need to prosper and grow. These advantages have helped Florida retain its position as the second best state for business, as determined by the votes of C-Suite leaders, in Chief Executive magazine’s “2017 Best and Worst States for Business” for five consecutive years.

» See industry snapshots in BusinessFlorida.com (9 in all), includes major employers for each industry. (Coming tomorrow, Florida's top assets.)

Federal grants to Florida scientists top $600 million, breaking record

Florida scientists secured a record haul of grants from the National Institutes of Health this year — an impressive performance driven not by the nonprofit labs lured with more than $1 billion in public subsidies but by long-established universities. [Source: Palm Beach Post]

From Florida Trend's "Research Florida:"
» Funding Florida's research -- Updates and lists that show top National Science Foundation (NSF) grants -- which institution received how much -- as well as top National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants for 2017.

Enterprise Florida could give employee pay raises

Enterprise Florida President and CEO Pete Antonacci advised members of the agency's Finance and Compensation Committee on Friday of recommended increases as a way to keep employee salaries competitive with the private market. [Source: WJXT]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

Florida Trend Publisher's Column
› A state of small businesses [Andy Corty]
Florida is a state of small businesses, many of which rely on community banks to help run their operations. Yet consolidation has left the state with fewer and fewer community banks — as our Economic Backbone feature points out.

› Nelson files tax-relief bill to help victims of hurricanes [News Release]
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-FL, has filed legislation to provide some much needed tax relief to individuals and small businesses hit hardest by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

› Health coach sues Florida Department of Health [AP]
A Florida health coach is suing the state Department of Health because she was forced to shut down her diet advice business. The lawsuit claims that the state is violating her first amendment rights to free speech by not allowing her to talk with clients about nutrition.

› Jacksonville’s Fanatic sports apparel retailer hires e-commerce exec to handle international sales [Florida Times-Union]
Jacksonville-based Fanatics Inc. has hired an e-commerce executive to handle the company’s international division for sales. Steve Davis has been appointed president of Fanatics International.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Florida Times-Union gets new ownership with closing of purchase by GateHouse Media [Florida Times-Union]
For the first time in nearly 35 years, The Florida Times-Union is under new ownership. The newspaper and 10 others have been purchased by GateHouse Media in a transaction that closed Monday.

› Apartment rents keep rising in Southwest Florida [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Apartment rents continue to rise throughout Southwest Florida, but in some cities the increases are smaller than Florida and U.S. averages. The annual increases ranged from 1.2 percent in Bradenton to 5.1 percent in Palmetto, according to September data from online rental marketplace Apartment List.

› Derek Jeter doesn’t have many answers for the Miami Marlins — yet [Miami Herald]
The new owners of the Miami Marlins pledged to make fans their “No. 1 priority,” but provided few other specifics about what direction they intend to take both on and off the field.

› Caroline Miller steps down as Orlando Ballet executive director [Orlando Sentinel]
Orlando Ballet is back in an all-too-familiar situation: In need of an executive director. The organization, which has faced significant financial struggles, announced Tuesday it is looking for its eighth leader in six years.