// 2015
ORLANDO PULSE
The Orlando metropolitan area, much like the rest of
Florida, was severely impacted by the recession and
housing crisis, but the local economy has fully recovered
and continues improving. Metro Orlando has experienced
the highest job growth in the state, and is expected
to have the fourth highest job growth in the country,
according to Moody’s Analytics. The improving economic
market on a national level is having a positive effect
on Orlando’s growth, as the region is heavily reliant on
tourism and in-migration.
The metro saw record tourism last year with over 62.7
million visitors (the most visited city in America), and the
population has increased almost 9.0 percent since 2010,
helping raise property values and spur new construction.
Orlando is also making strives to diversify its economy
by attracting new industries to the area, which will situate
the region to be less reliant on external factors such as
currency exchanges and national economic shifts.
Given the rebound of Orlando’s economic cornerstones,
industry experts are optimistic about the future of
Orlando, but other factors are influencing decision
makers to take a closer eye at the region. The economy
is becoming more diversified and globalized, with an
emerging hi-tech/life science sector, a strengthening
aerospace/defense sector, a transformative development
pipeline, and access to an educated labor force, the
Greater Orlando economy will continue improving in the
near and long term.
Marc L. Miller
Research Manager, Florida