EVOLVE Business and Professional Magazine August 2017 | Page 29

While the reemployment in our region is encouraging, there
business that is not within the three major categories mentioned
are other areas that require our attention. According to the 2017 above – Frontier Communications, with 800 employees. Again,
– 2020 Florida & Metro Forecast report issued by the Institute for this presents an opportunity for the region to foster growth in
Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida, new and more diverse industries.
our region is expected to show modest levels of growth in most
We are a region known for nationally-recognized events, like
economic indicators. For instance, the per capita income level Bike Week, Race Week, and particularly the Daytona 500. At the
is expected to average $37,800, and the employment growth same time, we are a region where 61% of jobs are in the service
rate is expected to average 1.9% each year. These numbers pose industry, which mean 61% of our jobs are automatable. In an era
an opportunity for improvement, especially considering the of digitalization, streamlining of services, and automation, this
expected employment growth rate for the state is 4.7%. For that statistic should be carefully considered in our plans for growth.
reason, we need economic development organizations, with
Knowing where we stand, we need to continue conversations
the community at large, to work together to determine ways to and carefully analyze economic data to determine which local
improve the average income, while helping businesses achieve industries have the greatest potential for growth and which
their goals. Making this happen requires well-coordinated ones bring the most economic benefit to the region. Then we
workforce development efforts and an apt and willing workforce. need to help businesses in these industries grow. For example,
Further analyzing our current situation, our largest
CareerSource Flagler Volusia, the local workforce development
businesses, by number of employees, fall within one of three board, provides relevant HR services to businesses including: job
categories: local government, healthcare, or higher education. The postings, coordination of recruitment events, training financial
number one employer is the Volusia County Schools, with 7,503 aid, career assessments, internships, upskilling workers. On
employees. From the top ten employers, only one is a private average 60 businesses receive these services each month.
386.310.1337
AUGUST 2017 | 29 |