Nemous in hiring mode for 2012 opening

The new Nemours Children’s Hospital, now under construction in Osceola's front yard, will hire 700 employees between next fall and its fall 2012 opening, the Orlando Business Journal reports. Health care is expected to be one of the bright spots in the local economy, growing by more than 3.5 percent in the next seven years.

Hispanic residents drive Florida's population growth

A boom in Hispanic residents during the past 10 years drove most of Florida's population growth to a total of 18,801,310, according the U.S. census 2010 count released Thursday. That's up nearly 18 percent from the 15,982,378 people the Census Bureau counted in 2000. The growth in minority populations helped tip Broward, Orange and Osceola counties to become so-called minority-majorities. In each, along with four others statewide, non-Hispanic white residents now make up less than 50 percent of the population. They join Miami-Dade, Hendry and Gadsden counties, which were populated by minority-majorities in the 2000 census, plus Hardee County, which became minority-majority last year.

Gov. Rick Scott off on first mission trip to Panama

Gov. Rick Scott and an entourage of staffers and business people from Enterprise Florida left this morning on an overnight trade mission to Panama, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The idea is to drum up business for Florida’s ports as a result of the widening of the Panama Canal. Scott recently announced his intention to divert money to the Port of Miami to upgrade it so that it can accommodate larger ships that will be able to pass through the canal. Port executives from around Florida are interested in similar upgrades and a number of those executives accompanied Scott on the trip. Noticeably absent, though, was a representative from Port Canaveral. Scott’s chief economic development hire, Gray Swoope, will not be on the trip. He officially starts on Monday as the new president of Enterprise Florida.

Unemployment rate holds state in January

   Florida's statewide unemployment rate remained virtually unchanged in January, falling to 11.9 percent, down just a bit from December's rate of 12 percent, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The figure represents about 1.1 million jobless out of total labor force of 9.3 million, the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation said Thursday. Total non-agricultural employment in January dropped by 12,900 jobs from the previous month, but it is up about 8,400 positions from a year earlier. In Metro Orlando, the jobless rate rose to 11.7 percent, up from 11.5 percent in December. But the region led the state in year-over-year job gains.
   University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith likened the job market to a jet preparing for takeoff. The doors have been sealed, seatbacks are in the upright and locked position, and now everyone is waiting for clearance from the tower. Snaith expects that to happen sometime in the next several months.
   "We're seeing movement in the right direction," said Snaith, the director of UCF's Institute for Economic Competitiveness. "This is just the beginning, and our recovery will continue to build over the course of the year."

Swoope to Head Enterprise Florida

   The board of Enterprise Florida voted Monday afternoon to hire Gray Swoope as its new president and chief executive officer, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Swoope, executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority, was recommended by Gov. Rick Scott. The board, which had begun a search for new president since Scott fired former President John Adams, decided it would forgo a national search and go with the governor’s recommendation.
   In fact, former House Speaker Allan Bense, who was leading the search effort for Enterprise Florida, cited how long it took — six months– for the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission to find a new president.
   “Frankly, I don’t think Florida is in a position right now where we can wait five or six months,” Bense said.
   The board voted to cap Swoope’s salary at $300,000, including base pay equal to the governor’s salary of about $130,000 and incentive pay not to exceed $170,000.
   There’s a big catch in his contract, though. Swoope has agreed to work without a cushy severance package. All that his contract will require is that he receive 30 days notice if the governor decides to fire him.