According to business researchers at the University of Central Florida as reported in a recent article in the Tampa Tribune, the areas with potential job growth in the Tampa Bay area are: professional and business service jobs, which are expected to grow 4.5 percent a year to 2013, followed by manufacturing, health, education and entrepreneurship. The industries experiencing a decline in job growth locally are construction, housing-related jobs such as mortgage brokers, and government work. The UCF research report stated that local job growth in the construction sector will not return until the second quarter of 2011, “and it will be two decades before construction employment reaches pre-recession peaks from 2006.”
Fortunately, new job sectors are emerging, giving those struggling hope. As director of UCF’s Institute for Economic Competitiveness, Sean Snaith so eloquently put it “I think what happens when you go through recessions as long and deep as this one, that people who might have lost a job and haven’t had much success finding one find themselves nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit latent in themselves.”
Here are some thoughts on new jobs likely to evolve from a couple of Tampa Bay’s economic development experts:
- Chris Steinocher, the senior business development official for the Tampa Bay Partnership, said investments in research, development and engineering from nonprofit groups such as SRI International and Draper Laboratory are beginning to materialize locally. “Tampa Bay is well-positioned to become the destination where the world comes to translate information to intelligence.”
- According to Steinocher, transportation may also create jobs and a climate for more positions. Developments such as the widening of the Panama Canal and the high-speed rail link between Tampa and Orlando could contribute to this.
- Keith Norden, president and CEO of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp., said some sectors for which Tampa’s economy is known – financial and accounting services, information technology and software development – will continue to strengthen the local economy.
- More and more individuals are turning to entrepreneurship. “The area should continue to be a fertile ground for entrepreneurs, the economic development officials agree, with groups such as the Tampa Bay Technology Forum, Creative Tampa Bay, the Florida Venture Forum, USF’s Small Business Development Center and others supporting startups of all kinds.”
Click here to read more of the Tampa tribune’s article career growth opportunities in the Tampa Bay area.
Tags: economic development, entrepreneurship, job growth, small business, Tampa Bay jobs, Tampa Tribune
