According to the United States Census Bureau (American Community Survey) from 2008 through 2009 the Jacksonville Metropolitan Statistical Area suffered a net loss of 31,911 jobs, as measured by the "civilian employed population 16 years and over." Despite those losses, gains were made in some areas, especially in service occupations and speciality service industries. There was an uptick in the number of people starting businesses as well.
BY OCCUPATION
Occupations making gains from 2008 through 2009
-Service occupations (4,396)
-Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (1,195)
Occupations suffering losses from 2008 through 2009
-Construction, extraction, maintenance, and repair occupations (-12,791)
-Sales and office occupations (-12,470)
-Management, professional, and related occupations (-6,677)
-Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (-5,564)
BY INDUSTRY
Industries making gains from 2008 through 2009
-Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (5,264)
-Educational services, and health care and social assistance (1,827)
-Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (311)
Industries suffering losses from 2008 through 2009
-Retail trade (-11,808)
-Construction (-9,026)
-Other services, except public administration (-5,213)
-Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (-5,152)
-Public administration (-2,239)
-Information (-1,961)
-Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (-1,438)
-Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (-1,079)
-Manufacturing (-829)
-Wholesale trade (-568)
BY CLASS OF WORKER
-Private wage and salary workers (-32,876)
-Government workers (-2,894)
-Self-employed in own not incorporated business workers (3,720)
-Unpaid family workers (139)
Other information about industries and occupations from the 2009 American Community Survey for the Jacksonville MSA
INDUSTRIES: In 2009, for the employed population 16 years and older, the leading industries in the Jacksonville, FL Metro Area were Educational services, and health care, and social assistance, 20%, and Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing, 12%.
OCCUPATIONS AND TYPE OF EMPLOYER: Among the most common occupations were: Management, professional, and related occupations, 35%; Sales and office occupations, 29%; Service occupations, 18%; Production, transportation, and material moving occupations, 9%; and Construction, extraction, maintenance, and repair occupations, 8%.
82% of the people employed were Private wage and salary workers; 13% were Federal, state, or local government workers; and 5% were Self-employed, in own not incorporated business, workers.
Source: Economic Data - 2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates and 2009 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates; http://factfinder.census.gov/ – Jacksonville, FL MSA
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
STEM education upgrade, not necessarily a job creation engine
Tariff-free trade policies are great because they increase commerce, and we can mitigate those policies' negative effects on the blue-collar job market by upgrading our education system to cultivate more science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) specialists for the white-collar sector.
Known as the bipartisan Washington Consensus, this deceptive theory projects the illusion of logic. After all, if the domestic economy's future is in STEM-driven innovation, then it stands to reason that trade policies shedding "low-tech" work and education policies promoting high-tech skills could guarantee success.
No doubt, you've heard this fairy tale from prominent politicians and business leaders who incessantly insist that our economic troubles spring from an education system that is supposedly no longer graduating enough STEM experts.
It sounds vaguely logical, except, the lore relies on the assumptions that 1) American schools aren't generating enough STEM supply to meet employer demand, 2) the education system — not neoliberalism — is driving this alleged STEM drought and 3) if America came up with more of such specialists, they would find jobs.
Consider a recent study by Rutgers and Georgetown University that found colleges "in the United States actually graduate many more STEM students than are hired each year."
As researchers discovered, many students are pursuing finance instead of STEM careers because Wall Street jobs "are higher paying" and offer "employment stability" and "less susceptib(ility) to offshoring."
This is the truth that the Great Education Myth aims to obscure. It's not that schools are ill-equipped to train STEM specialists. It's that the students who might boost our STEM workforce are choosing to avoid STEM majors because they see an economy that is more hospitable to careers in Wall Street casinos rather than in high-tech innovation — a financialized economy based less on creating tangible assets than on encouraging worthless speculation.
This doesn't mean that our education system is perfect. But it does mean that without reforming the trade, tax and regulatory policies that reward high-tech outsourcing and incentivize careers in finance, our schools can never be an engine of value-generating information-age jobs.
Tariff-free trade pacts inflate the profits of transnational businesses by helping them troll the globe for cheap exploitable labor. Loopholes exempting foreign earnings from taxes encourage companies to move jobs overseas. And both deregulation and bailouts disproportionately balloon financial industry revenues.
The neoliberal corporate class makes big money off this status quo and neoliberal lawmakers get their cut via campaign contributions. The last thing either wants is an honest debate about neoliberalism's downsides. And so they play to our lust for silver-bullet solutions, endlessly telling us that everything is the schools' fault.
Read David Sirota’s entire article, “The Neoliberal Bait-and-Switch”, online at http://www.creators.com/opinion/david-sirota/the-neoliberal-bait-and-switch.html
Check out Michelle Martin’s interview (Tell Me More at NPR) with this article’s author David Sirota and finance expert Alvin Hall http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130188617
Known as the bipartisan Washington Consensus, this deceptive theory projects the illusion of logic. After all, if the domestic economy's future is in STEM-driven innovation, then it stands to reason that trade policies shedding "low-tech" work and education policies promoting high-tech skills could guarantee success.
No doubt, you've heard this fairy tale from prominent politicians and business leaders who incessantly insist that our economic troubles spring from an education system that is supposedly no longer graduating enough STEM experts.
It sounds vaguely logical, except, the lore relies on the assumptions that 1) American schools aren't generating enough STEM supply to meet employer demand, 2) the education system — not neoliberalism — is driving this alleged STEM drought and 3) if America came up with more of such specialists, they would find jobs.
Consider a recent study by Rutgers and Georgetown University that found colleges "in the United States actually graduate many more STEM students than are hired each year."
As researchers discovered, many students are pursuing finance instead of STEM careers because Wall Street jobs "are higher paying" and offer "employment stability" and "less susceptib(ility) to offshoring."
This is the truth that the Great Education Myth aims to obscure. It's not that schools are ill-equipped to train STEM specialists. It's that the students who might boost our STEM workforce are choosing to avoid STEM majors because they see an economy that is more hospitable to careers in Wall Street casinos rather than in high-tech innovation — a financialized economy based less on creating tangible assets than on encouraging worthless speculation.
This doesn't mean that our education system is perfect. But it does mean that without reforming the trade, tax and regulatory policies that reward high-tech outsourcing and incentivize careers in finance, our schools can never be an engine of value-generating information-age jobs.
Tariff-free trade pacts inflate the profits of transnational businesses by helping them troll the globe for cheap exploitable labor. Loopholes exempting foreign earnings from taxes encourage companies to move jobs overseas. And both deregulation and bailouts disproportionately balloon financial industry revenues.
The neoliberal corporate class makes big money off this status quo and neoliberal lawmakers get their cut via campaign contributions. The last thing either wants is an honest debate about neoliberalism's downsides. And so they play to our lust for silver-bullet solutions, endlessly telling us that everything is the schools' fault.
Read David Sirota’s entire article, “The Neoliberal Bait-and-Switch”, online at http://www.creators.com/opinion/david-sirota/the-neoliberal-bait-and-switch.html
Check out Michelle Martin’s interview (Tell Me More at NPR) with this article’s author David Sirota and finance expert Alvin Hall http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130188617
Monday, September 27, 2010
Economic Gardening? -or- Economic Hunting?
Economic Gardening, a strategy that focuses on nurturing second stage growth companies and growing an economy from within, has caught the attention of many economic developers. Over 700 communities have contacted Littleton, Colo., where the concept originated, to learn more about the project.
The program has helped entrepreneurs double the job base in Littleton from 15,000 to 30,000 and triple the retail sales tax from $6 million to $21 million over the past 20 years. At the same time, the population only grew 23 percent over those two decades.
Littleton’s project began with the idea that "economic gardening" was a better approach than "economic hunting." This means growing jobs locally through entrepreneurial activity, rather than recruiting those jobs. The idea was based on research by David Birch at MIT. His research revealed that that the great majority of all new jobs in any local economy were produced by the small, local businesses in the community. While recruiting coups draw major newspaper headlines, they typically represent less than 5 percent of the jobs created in most local economies.
In developing its "economic gardening" project, Littleton's economic development team found that for every successful recruiter who represents a hot office/industrial park in a major metropolitan area, there were literally hundreds of economic developers in rural areas, inner cities, and small towns who struggled without much real success. Similarly, if an outlying area was successful at attracting new industry, it seemed to be a certain type of business activity: the branch plant of industries that competed primarily on low price and thus needed low cost factors of production. Rural towns with cheap land, free buildings, tax abatements and especially low wage labor would "win" these relocating businesses. Experience indicates that these types of expansions stay around as long as costs stayed low. If the standard of living starts to rise, the company pulled up stakes and headed for locations where the costs were even lower, often Third World countries.
Many communities are struggling to regain a sense of control over their future, and see investments in local entrepreneurs as less risky and more certain than continuing to play the high stakes recruiting game. Still, Economic Gardening is not a quick answer to a plant shutting down: These strategies take time to put into place and time to reach a critical mass of growing companies.
The three basic elements of Economic Gardening are:
1. Providing critical information needed by businesses to survive and thrive.
2. Developing and cultivating an infrastructure that goes beyond basic physical infrastructure and includes quality of life, a culture that embraces growth and change, and access to intellectual resources, including qualified and talented employees.
3. Developing connections between businesses and the people and organizations that can help take them to the next level — business associations, universities, roundtable groups, service providers and more.
An entrepreneurial approach to economic development has several advantages. First, cost per job is much less than the $250,000 to $300,000 incentives typical in major relocations. Second, the investment is in the community and its infrastructure; should a business choose to leave, they do not take that investment with them. Third, it is a healthier approach in that a community’s future is no longer tied to the whims of an out of state company. Its future is entirely a function of its own efforts and investments.
Click on the links below for more information on Economic Gardening
A Local Perspective: Littleton’s Economic Gardening Strategy
http://www.nlc.org/articles/articleItems/NCW011110/gibbonslocalperspective.aspx
An Entrepreneurial Approach to Economic Development
www.littletongov.org/bia/economicgardening/
Economic Gardening: Next Generation Applications for a Balanced Portfolio Approach to Economic Growth
http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/sbe_06_ch06.pdf
Florida’s Economic Gardening Program
http://www.growfl.com/
Northeast Florida Economic Gardening Program
http://www.secondstagebusinessdevelopment.com/
The program has helped entrepreneurs double the job base in Littleton from 15,000 to 30,000 and triple the retail sales tax from $6 million to $21 million over the past 20 years. At the same time, the population only grew 23 percent over those two decades.
Littleton’s project began with the idea that "economic gardening" was a better approach than "economic hunting." This means growing jobs locally through entrepreneurial activity, rather than recruiting those jobs. The idea was based on research by David Birch at MIT. His research revealed that that the great majority of all new jobs in any local economy were produced by the small, local businesses in the community. While recruiting coups draw major newspaper headlines, they typically represent less than 5 percent of the jobs created in most local economies.
In developing its "economic gardening" project, Littleton's economic development team found that for every successful recruiter who represents a hot office/industrial park in a major metropolitan area, there were literally hundreds of economic developers in rural areas, inner cities, and small towns who struggled without much real success. Similarly, if an outlying area was successful at attracting new industry, it seemed to be a certain type of business activity: the branch plant of industries that competed primarily on low price and thus needed low cost factors of production. Rural towns with cheap land, free buildings, tax abatements and especially low wage labor would "win" these relocating businesses. Experience indicates that these types of expansions stay around as long as costs stayed low. If the standard of living starts to rise, the company pulled up stakes and headed for locations where the costs were even lower, often Third World countries.
Many communities are struggling to regain a sense of control over their future, and see investments in local entrepreneurs as less risky and more certain than continuing to play the high stakes recruiting game. Still, Economic Gardening is not a quick answer to a plant shutting down: These strategies take time to put into place and time to reach a critical mass of growing companies.
The three basic elements of Economic Gardening are:
1. Providing critical information needed by businesses to survive and thrive.
2. Developing and cultivating an infrastructure that goes beyond basic physical infrastructure and includes quality of life, a culture that embraces growth and change, and access to intellectual resources, including qualified and talented employees.
3. Developing connections between businesses and the people and organizations that can help take them to the next level — business associations, universities, roundtable groups, service providers and more.
An entrepreneurial approach to economic development has several advantages. First, cost per job is much less than the $250,000 to $300,000 incentives typical in major relocations. Second, the investment is in the community and its infrastructure; should a business choose to leave, they do not take that investment with them. Third, it is a healthier approach in that a community’s future is no longer tied to the whims of an out of state company. Its future is entirely a function of its own efforts and investments.
Click on the links below for more information on Economic Gardening
A Local Perspective: Littleton’s Economic Gardening Strategy
http://www.nlc.org/articles/articleItems/NCW011110/gibbonslocalperspective.aspx
An Entrepreneurial Approach to Economic Development
www.littletongov.org/bia/economicgardening/
Economic Gardening: Next Generation Applications for a Balanced Portfolio Approach to Economic Growth
http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/sbe_06_ch06.pdf
Florida’s Economic Gardening Program
http://www.growfl.com/
Northeast Florida Economic Gardening Program
http://www.secondstagebusinessdevelopment.com/
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Targeted occupations: Where the jobs are?
The Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation released the “2010-11 Regional Targeted Occupations List” for its statewide workforce regions, including the six-county area of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns.
A review of targeted jobs for the Jacksonville area finds that the fastest-growing occupations are in computers and maintenance, while the highest-paid entry-level jobs are computer and information-systems managers.
To be considered a targeted job the criteria called for jobs with required certification or community college credit or a degree; at least 25 annual job openings and positive growth; and an average hourly wage of at least $12.80 and an average minimum hourly entry wage of about $10.40. High-skill, high-wage occupations are those with at least an average hourly wage of $20.06 and an average hourly entry wage of $12.80.
In the Jacksonville region, the top 10 targeted occupations among three measures:
• By entry-level hourly wage, all 10 were high-skill, high-wage, led by the computer and information-systems managers at an entry-level wage of an average $41.71. However, the agency reported just 26 openings a year.
The highest number of openings at the highest average entry-level pay came in the category of medical and health services managers, at $30.25 an hour with 367 openings a year.
• The top targeted jobs ranked by annual percentage growth were led by network systems and data communications analysts. The annual percentage growth in those jobs was reported at 4.76 percent, with an average hourly entry wage of $22.38. The second was medical assistants, at 4.22 percent and $10.96.
• The top jobs by the number of annual openings was the category of general maintenance and repair workers, at 1,423 openings a year at an average entry-level pay of $10.36 an hour. Customer service representatives came in second at 1,026 openings a year at entry pay averaging $11.03.
Click here for a full list of targeted occupations for 2010-11 or check out the Recommended Reading list to your right.
Read the full article online, “Targeted jobs and where to find them” (9-21-10) by Karen Brune Mathis at the Financial News and Daily Record go to
http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=531919
A review of targeted jobs for the Jacksonville area finds that the fastest-growing occupations are in computers and maintenance, while the highest-paid entry-level jobs are computer and information-systems managers.
To be considered a targeted job the criteria called for jobs with required certification or community college credit or a degree; at least 25 annual job openings and positive growth; and an average hourly wage of at least $12.80 and an average minimum hourly entry wage of about $10.40. High-skill, high-wage occupations are those with at least an average hourly wage of $20.06 and an average hourly entry wage of $12.80.
In the Jacksonville region, the top 10 targeted occupations among three measures:
• By entry-level hourly wage, all 10 were high-skill, high-wage, led by the computer and information-systems managers at an entry-level wage of an average $41.71. However, the agency reported just 26 openings a year.
The highest number of openings at the highest average entry-level pay came in the category of medical and health services managers, at $30.25 an hour with 367 openings a year.
• The top targeted jobs ranked by annual percentage growth were led by network systems and data communications analysts. The annual percentage growth in those jobs was reported at 4.76 percent, with an average hourly entry wage of $22.38. The second was medical assistants, at 4.22 percent and $10.96.
• The top jobs by the number of annual openings was the category of general maintenance and repair workers, at 1,423 openings a year at an average entry-level pay of $10.36 an hour. Customer service representatives came in second at 1,026 openings a year at entry pay averaging $11.03.
Click here for a full list of targeted occupations for 2010-11 or check out the Recommended Reading list to your right.
Read the full article online, “Targeted jobs and where to find them” (9-21-10) by Karen Brune Mathis at the Financial News and Daily Record go to
http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=531919
Thursday, September 16, 2010
NE FL's #1 Economic Issue? Jobs and Unemployment!
A recent survey by the First Coast Manufacturers Association, found that businesses and the general public agree on their number 1 concern - jobs and unemployment.
Top economic issues facing Northeast Florida
What do you think are the top three economic issues facing Northeast Florida today? (Multiple responses accepted; 12 issues identified.)
Businesses:
Jobs/unemployment 46%
Education/training of workforce 19%
Housing market 16%
General public:
Jobs/unemployment 55%
Slow real estate market 19%
(Tie) Housing market 17%
(Tie) Health care costs 17%
Strongest industries in Northeast Florida
Among 15 listed industries, which ones do you feel are stronger sectors for the economy of Northeast Florida, which are weaker and which are about average compared to the United States as a whole? Think in terms of a typical business year when the economy is not in recession. Top three considered stronger than average
Businesses:
Health care 44%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 32%
Transportation and warehousing 29%
General public:
Health care 29%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 25%
Transportation and warehousing 17%
Performance of the regional economy
Compared to one year ago (mid-2009), do you think that the regional economy of Northeast Florida is getting better, getting worse or is about the same as it was one year ago?
Businesses:
About the same 43%
Getting better 40%
Getting worse 14%
Not sure/no response 3%
General public:
About the same 39%
Getting worse 37%
Getting better 20%
Not sure/no response 4%
High-priority industries
How would you like to see the economy of Northeast Florida develop over the next 10 years? Of industries listed, indicate whether you would make the industry a high priority, medium priority or low priority for economic development. Top high-priority industries
Businesses:
(Tie) Manufacturing 65%
(Tie) Health care 65%
Professional, scientific and technical services 60%
Information technology 59%
General public:
Health care 70%
Information technology 57%
Professional, scientific and technical services 48%
Career recommendations
If your child or another young person came to you for advice on choosing a career, which of the following industries would you be most likely to encourage them to consider? (Respondents could choose up to three from a list of 11.) Top three responses
Businesses:
Information technology 61%
Health care 51%
Professional, scientific and technical services 50%
General public:
Health care 63%
Information technology 61%
Professional, scientific and technical services 45%
Facilities to support
If an employer could create 1,000 new jobs in Northeast Florida by establishing a new business facility, what type of business facility would you support? (Respondents could choose up to three from a list of 10.) Top responses
Businesses:
Manufacturing 52%
(Tie) Professional, scientific and technical services 44%
(Tie) Information technology 44%
(Tie) Transportation and warehousing 30%
(Tie) Health care 30%
General public:
(Tie) Information technology 45%
(Tie) Health care 45%
Professional, scientific and technical services 38%
Manufacturing 30%
Ulrich Research Services Inc. of Orange Park prepared the survey, which involved 252 business respondents invited by regional and county chambers of commerce and 228 members of the general public. Neither group knew the manufacturers’ association was the sponsor of the survey.
Read the entire article, "Jobs No 1 Issue", by Karen Brune Mathis and featuring an interview with Lad Daniels (Former Jacksonville City Council President and First Coast Manufacturers Association President) at the Financial News and Daily Record
http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=531884
Top economic issues facing Northeast Florida
What do you think are the top three economic issues facing Northeast Florida today? (Multiple responses accepted; 12 issues identified.)
Businesses:
Jobs/unemployment 46%
Education/training of workforce 19%
Housing market 16%
General public:
Jobs/unemployment 55%
Slow real estate market 19%
(Tie) Housing market 17%
(Tie) Health care costs 17%
Strongest industries in Northeast Florida
Among 15 listed industries, which ones do you feel are stronger sectors for the economy of Northeast Florida, which are weaker and which are about average compared to the United States as a whole? Think in terms of a typical business year when the economy is not in recession. Top three considered stronger than average
Businesses:
Health care 44%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 32%
Transportation and warehousing 29%
General public:
Health care 29%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 25%
Transportation and warehousing 17%
Performance of the regional economy
Compared to one year ago (mid-2009), do you think that the regional economy of Northeast Florida is getting better, getting worse or is about the same as it was one year ago?
Businesses:
About the same 43%
Getting better 40%
Getting worse 14%
Not sure/no response 3%
General public:
About the same 39%
Getting worse 37%
Getting better 20%
Not sure/no response 4%
High-priority industries
How would you like to see the economy of Northeast Florida develop over the next 10 years? Of industries listed, indicate whether you would make the industry a high priority, medium priority or low priority for economic development. Top high-priority industries
Businesses:
(Tie) Manufacturing 65%
(Tie) Health care 65%
Professional, scientific and technical services 60%
Information technology 59%
General public:
Health care 70%
Information technology 57%
Professional, scientific and technical services 48%
Career recommendations
If your child or another young person came to you for advice on choosing a career, which of the following industries would you be most likely to encourage them to consider? (Respondents could choose up to three from a list of 11.) Top three responses
Businesses:
Information technology 61%
Health care 51%
Professional, scientific and technical services 50%
General public:
Health care 63%
Information technology 61%
Professional, scientific and technical services 45%
Facilities to support
If an employer could create 1,000 new jobs in Northeast Florida by establishing a new business facility, what type of business facility would you support? (Respondents could choose up to three from a list of 10.) Top responses
Businesses:
Manufacturing 52%
(Tie) Professional, scientific and technical services 44%
(Tie) Information technology 44%
(Tie) Transportation and warehousing 30%
(Tie) Health care 30%
General public:
(Tie) Information technology 45%
(Tie) Health care 45%
Professional, scientific and technical services 38%
Manufacturing 30%
Ulrich Research Services Inc. of Orange Park prepared the survey, which involved 252 business respondents invited by regional and county chambers of commerce and 228 members of the general public. Neither group knew the manufacturers’ association was the sponsor of the survey.
Read the entire article, "Jobs No 1 Issue", by Karen Brune Mathis and featuring an interview with Lad Daniels (Former Jacksonville City Council President and First Coast Manufacturers Association President) at the Financial News and Daily Record
http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=531884
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The Future of Northeast Florida
On September 8, 2010 Jack Manilla, representing the Florida Chamber Foundation, engaged attendees at the JCCI Issues and Answers forum in a discussion about Northeast Florida’s assets and liabilities.
The goal? Provide feedback to Foundation’s project to develop strategies and tactics that will get Florida back to work by making the State and its unique regions more economically competitive.
What else would you add to these lists?
Assets existing in our community that provide a (preferably) unique global competitive advantage: The St. Johns River. Multiple transportation resources (i.e. Interstate System, Rail, Waterways). Jacksonville’s logistical location. Military bases. Military veteran workforce. Jaguars. Attractive climate. Diverse geographic communities (urban, rural, oceanfront, riverfront). Medical centers and resources. Diverse business sectors. Strong regional focus/Cornerstone. Consolidated city/county government (Jacksonville). Multiple higher education institutions. Unique quality of life. Visually beautiful city. Efficient and well-maintained airport. Cecil commerce center.
Critical Factors if not addressed will impede our economic growth in the next 5 years / 20 years: Continuous inability to capitalize on the community’s assets. Poor leadership. Lack of business news that positively influences consumer and corporate decisions. Inability to hire educated workers. Too little focus on math, science, and technology in local k-20 education system. Lack of a major research university. Too little effort on improving the mental health system. Regional mass transportation. Tax avoidance policies. Lack of focus on water conservation.
Critical Factors needed to accelerate our economic growth in the next 5 years / 20 years: Focus on efficient and effective regional decision making. Recognition of the region as an economic force by making reference to the “Jacksonville Region” or “Jacksonville Area”. Focus on relaying positive business news for consumers and businesses. Highlight and capitialize on the positive aspects of the regional community. Require that those in City leadership have a master’s level education. Involve diverse people (age, background, views) in leadership and decision making roles. Host a major research university like other regions in the state.
Please read: http://www.flfoundation.org/ “About”, “Pillars – Innovation”, “Pillars - Caucus System”, “Scorecard”
The goal? Provide feedback to Foundation’s project to develop strategies and tactics that will get Florida back to work by making the State and its unique regions more economically competitive.
What else would you add to these lists?
Assets existing in our community that provide a (preferably) unique global competitive advantage: The St. Johns River. Multiple transportation resources (i.e. Interstate System, Rail, Waterways). Jacksonville’s logistical location. Military bases. Military veteran workforce. Jaguars. Attractive climate. Diverse geographic communities (urban, rural, oceanfront, riverfront). Medical centers and resources. Diverse business sectors. Strong regional focus/Cornerstone. Consolidated city/county government (Jacksonville). Multiple higher education institutions. Unique quality of life. Visually beautiful city. Efficient and well-maintained airport. Cecil commerce center.
Critical Factors if not addressed will impede our economic growth in the next 5 years / 20 years: Continuous inability to capitalize on the community’s assets. Poor leadership. Lack of business news that positively influences consumer and corporate decisions. Inability to hire educated workers. Too little focus on math, science, and technology in local k-20 education system. Lack of a major research university. Too little effort on improving the mental health system. Regional mass transportation. Tax avoidance policies. Lack of focus on water conservation.
Critical Factors needed to accelerate our economic growth in the next 5 years / 20 years: Focus on efficient and effective regional decision making. Recognition of the region as an economic force by making reference to the “Jacksonville Region” or “Jacksonville Area”. Focus on relaying positive business news for consumers and businesses. Highlight and capitialize on the positive aspects of the regional community. Require that those in City leadership have a master’s level education. Involve diverse people (age, background, views) in leadership and decision making roles. Host a major research university like other regions in the state.
Please read: http://www.flfoundation.org/ “About”, “Pillars – Innovation”, “Pillars - Caucus System”, “Scorecard”
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Manufacturing? A solution for a recession resilient economy?
China and Germany are clear winners in the Great Recession: In China suppressed wages are increasing for millions of industrial workers and the country’s stimulus -- effectively the world's largest -- has funded bullet trains, airports and wind turbines. Thanks to its favorable trade balance (exports remain high), Germany's finances are the strongest in Europe, which is why German monetary guarantees have been key to the future of both Greece and the euro.
These two countries do not have much in common; Germany has a mature economy and is a stultifyingly stable democracy. China has a rising economy and remains disturbingly authoritarian. What sets them apart from the world's other major powers, purely and simply, is manufacturing. Their predominantly industrial economies meet their own needs and those of other nations, and have made them flourish while others flounder. In 1960 the same could be said of the United States when manufacturing accounted for a quarter of our gross domestic product and employed 26 percent of the labor force. Today, manufacturing has shriveled to 11 percent of GDP and employs a kindred percentage of the workforce.
Until 2001, the United States exported more advanced technology than it imported, but since then the United States has been running annual high-tech deficits that reached $61 billion in 2008. Worse yet, as we lose manufacturing, which employed 63 percent of our scientists and engineers in 2007, we lose many of our most valuable professionals. Last year, reported Business Week, the number of employed scientists and engineers fell 6.3 percent while overall employment fell 4.1 percent.
Many Americans believe we're losing manufacturing because we can't compete against cheap Chinese labor. But Germany has remained a manufacturing giant notwithstanding the rise of East Asia, making high-end products with a workforce that is more unionized and better paid than ours. German exports came to $1.1 trillion in 2009 -- roughly $125 billion more than we exported, though there are just 82 million Germans to our 310 million Americans. Germany's yearly trade balance went from a deficit of $6 billion in 1998 to a surplus of $267 billion in 2008 -- the same year the United States ran a trade deficit of $569 billion. Over those same 10 years, Germany's annual growth rate per capita exceeded ours.
Read the entire article, "In recession battle, Germany and China are winners", by Harold Meyerson at The Washington Post online (July 1, 2010)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/30/AR2010063004199.html
These two countries do not have much in common; Germany has a mature economy and is a stultifyingly stable democracy. China has a rising economy and remains disturbingly authoritarian. What sets them apart from the world's other major powers, purely and simply, is manufacturing. Their predominantly industrial economies meet their own needs and those of other nations, and have made them flourish while others flounder. In 1960 the same could be said of the United States when manufacturing accounted for a quarter of our gross domestic product and employed 26 percent of the labor force. Today, manufacturing has shriveled to 11 percent of GDP and employs a kindred percentage of the workforce.
Until 2001, the United States exported more advanced technology than it imported, but since then the United States has been running annual high-tech deficits that reached $61 billion in 2008. Worse yet, as we lose manufacturing, which employed 63 percent of our scientists and engineers in 2007, we lose many of our most valuable professionals. Last year, reported Business Week, the number of employed scientists and engineers fell 6.3 percent while overall employment fell 4.1 percent.
Many Americans believe we're losing manufacturing because we can't compete against cheap Chinese labor. But Germany has remained a manufacturing giant notwithstanding the rise of East Asia, making high-end products with a workforce that is more unionized and better paid than ours. German exports came to $1.1 trillion in 2009 -- roughly $125 billion more than we exported, though there are just 82 million Germans to our 310 million Americans. Germany's yearly trade balance went from a deficit of $6 billion in 1998 to a surplus of $267 billion in 2008 -- the same year the United States ran a trade deficit of $569 billion. Over those same 10 years, Germany's annual growth rate per capita exceeded ours.
Read the entire article, "In recession battle, Germany and China are winners", by Harold Meyerson at The Washington Post online (July 1, 2010)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/30/AR2010063004199.html
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