Florida economic development officials will continue to combat high unemployment rates with aggressive job and business recruitment, according to state Secretary of Commerce Gray Swoope.
That means strong competition with Florida’s neighboring states in the Southeast, he said.
“We have to be just as aggressive in our state,” said Swoope, who also is president and CEO of Enterprise Florida Inc.
Swoope briefed attendees of Thursday’s First Coast Real Estate Economic Outlook Conference at the Osborn Center about the culture change under way in economic development.
“The market today is about speed,” he said. “We have to be flexible to market demands. Basically we have to react quickly.”
That means decisions have to be made quicker, which can be assisted by eliminating regulatory barriers, he said.
He cited the practice of Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Herschel Vinyard, who was a Jacksonville executive before his appointment by Gov. Rick Scott.
“If it can’t happen, just tell me no,” he said.
“It’s OK to say no. If that’s never going to happen, there’s no sense in me wasting time and resources for four or five years on a project that’s never going to happen. Don’t string it along, make a decision,” he said.
“On the flip side, if it’s going to happen, give me an estimate on timeframe,” he said.
Swoope said he was bullish on Florida’s ability to compete in international trade.
“The future is bright,” he said. “International is a very big part of our economy … we can compete.”
Tourism also remains a “big part of our economy.” He said the focus will be on using Florida’s tourism brands as business brands.
All efforts are focused on job creation, attracting businesses and lowering unemployment, he said.
Swoope said the current 9.6 unemployment rate is still “too high” but an improvement from the 12 percent rate around the time Scott took office in January 2011.
Swoope began his presentation by using the same question the speaker before him, National Association of Realtors economist George Ratiu, posed about the beliefs of business owners and consumers about the economy “getting back to normal.”
“Things will not return to ‘normal,’” Swoope said.
“It’s not going to happen … we know we have to do things differently. We are doing things differently,” he said.
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