by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
The City’s corporate recruiting has long hinged on Jacksonville’s family-friendly suburban environment. But to capture the young “creative class” currently sought after by technology-driven companies, the City should highlight coffee houses and cafes over traditional communities and canopy trees, said a state workforce consultant.
The workforce used to chase the companies said Candace Moody, who analyzes workforce demographics in Northeast Florida as vice president of marketing and communications for WorkSource. Now that tide is starting to turn. Increasingly, companies look to set up shop where skilled workers cluster. Typically, those areas feature nightlife, cheap housing and outlets for creative expression.
“It’s what we call the ‘cool factor’ ” said Moody. “Young professionals are attracted to the urban lifestyle; clubs and a public scene. The traditional things we used to talk about in quality of life, things like the ballet, or even a professional football team, don’t hold as much attraction for younger workers.”
The transition toward creative communities has caught some cities flat-footed. Moody said older cities and southern cities in particular have had a difficult time making the change. Although she said Jacksonville faced “a real transition from a really traditional community,” Moody said downtown events like the recent film festival and the monthly Art Walks are big steps in the right direction.
“Look at the Art Walk, and you’ll see a lot of young people walking around,” she said.
Moody said its important for cities to provide places for young people to congregate. Young workers often can’t afford living spaces large enough to entertain, so they gather in coffee shops or cafes. Moody said sidewalk seating was particularly attractive.
As the City helps to develop housing, Moody said the affordable segment of the market shouldn’t be ignored. Buildings full of young professionals aren’t just attractive to corporate headquarters, she said, they eventually beckon bars and restaurants to the area.
“Eventually, if you keep places like Berkman and 11 E. Forsyth filled, those places are going to start to demand a place to get a cup of coffee after 10 o’clock,” she said.
Jacksonville’s workforce is already younger and better educated than the rest of Florida according to Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Jacksonville doesn’t have as many retirees as other large Florida cities. Moody said Jacksonville’s workforce is “young and eager to work,” a competitive edge in corporate recruiting.
A young, technology-savvy workforce is a particular plus when the City tries to attract the kind of high-wage jobs, that Mayor John Peyton has said he wants the JEDC to go after. Peyton has ordered a 60-day moratorium on business incentives while the commission re-evaluates what kinds of jobs it wants to subsidize with public money.
Moody said the City should try to attract jobs in finance, business services, medicine and manufacturing. Businesses like these import dollars to Jacksonville’s economy.
In a presentation to a JEDC advisory committee, Bob Baldwin, the vice president of small business for the regional chamber of commerce, called the jobs “direct jobs” and said the commission should focus its incentive dollars on bringing them to Jacksonville. Indirect jobs, in contrast, follow the direct jobs which are created to provide retail goods and services.
Indirect employers, like restaurants and retail, don’t bring outside dollars into the local economy. They simply recycle the community’s existing money. The City actually loses money to indirect jobs as part of every purchase flows to corporate headquarters’ located elsewhere.
Retail and service jobs, which make up more than 30 percent of the local workforce, are still important, said Moody. For instance, a downtown housing market won’t stay viable without stores, restaurants and bars to keep residents entertained. The indirect jobs are a feature of a well-rounded and self-sustaining job market, said Moody. But if the City has limited incentive money to spend, she recommended putting it toward the direct jobs.
Manufacturing is an area where the City would likely see a healthy return on its investment, she said. Manufacturers typically bring jobs in large numbers and offer stability to their employees. Due to the large cost of relocating, Moody said manufacturers tend to stay put once they’ve paid to build in a community.
Manufacturing usually performs well even when the rest of the economy doesn’t. Moody explained that when the economy slows in one region, manufacturers can simply ship their products to better performing areas.
Jacksonville’s manufacturing sector outperforms most Florida cities but lags nationally, according to the Florida Department of Labor. Manufacturing employs about 40,000 locally, representing about 7 percent of the total jobs. That compares well to the 4 percent rate statewide, but runs significantly behind major northern cities, where as many as 20 percent of the jobs are filled by manufacturers.
Moody thinks that disparity represents an opportunity for southern cities with comparably low labor costs. Jacksonville’s port facilities and access to rail lines and highways should appeal to manufacturers as well.
Moody lauded the City for enticing Fidelity Investment’s corporate headquarters to Jacksonville. She said Jacksonville should have the opportunity to add more Fortune 500 headquarters. She said the City’s electric and communications infrastructure compared well to national competitors.