Summary
The combination of falling real estate sales, lower housing prices, job losses and a government budget crunch reinforces the importance of having a regional economy based on more than tourism, real estate, construction and retail sales, Wenstrand says. The region's No. 1 need? A trained, skilled workforce in information technology and engineering to support aerospace, health services, renewable energies, logistics, transportation and international trade. PANAMA CITY / BAY COUNTY Despite the effect of the declining real estate market on construction, engineering and architectural businesses in Bay County, overall employment was up 1.7% last year - surpassing the state's 1.1% average growth rate.
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Refocusing
"Sometimes it takes a crisis to get people's attention," says Al Wenstrand, president of Florida's Great Northwest, a 16-county economic development organization. The combination of falling real estate sales, lower housing prices, job losses and a government budget crunch reinforces the importance of having a regional economy based on more than tourism, real estate, construction and retail sales, Wenstrand says. "The problem is those industries trend upward together, and they trend downward together." The region's No. 1 need? A trained, skilled workforce in information technology and ...
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