It's 13.2 percent. Unemployment rate goes up again. (Fort Myers, Naples: credit, wage)

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Originally Posted by twobums

Funny how some locals here are now saying 'if the season comes' ~ not 'when the season comes'.

That's the fear working right now. In this area, it has been common to see a weak season, when it is accompanied by a weaker than average stock market.

Even though a good many of the usual snow birds(the ones that own homes here) return, they just dont spend as much while they are here. There will be some that simply dont return as well, though I think it is a small number. Of all of my customers (20+) that fit the description, one never did make it down last season..... And those that did come, really didnt loosen up the purse strings til mid February.

Yesterdays -185, and todays +4.50 as I write does not settle the nerves any. The general consensus is that we may indeed see a sharp correction in the weeks ahead.

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Originally Posted by ChrisA70

You should see the 4"x6" job section in the News-Press.... 3-4 years ago it was 1-2 WHOLE pages and then some on the Sunday paper. Sad, very sad.

And even sadder, most of those few "jobs" are the "work from home" type scam non-jobs.

I've noticed that my craigslist service ads only receive replies that are trying to "recruit" me for these same "scams".

[Compression]

Originally Posted by 121804

What/where the main employers before the boom?

Pretty much what it always was, Real Estate, home building, and catering to tourists/snowbirds services


Is SWFL just returning to how it was prior to the boom & over time (a LONG time) eventually just level out?

Yes, but the biggest long term problem, IMHO, will be the glut of empty housing, and comm'l space that has grown up during the boom

We have a family friend who lived in CC in the 80s & according to her, the place was struggling even then....

I think it has been struggling since the '60's when it began to transform from an agricultural/livestock area to a touristy, wannabe mainstream urban area. A zillion vacant manufactured residential lots in Cape Coral had a lot to do with that perception that the area had more to offer than what it was, and is becoming again.

Edit: I forgot about the other big "industry" that this area was known for when I arrived in the "90's......Telemarketing. I think most of those jobs have gone to India however.

[ChrisA70]

Originally Posted by twobums

Chris... I really liked the other spelling. Sorry if my post came across nit picky.

Funny how some locals here are now saying 'if the season comes' ~ not 'when the season comes'.

No problem, I thought you were just being obnoxious. There have been a lot of rude people on recently.

Season will come, maybe not as strong as usual, but it will. Hopefully.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by ChrisA70

No problem, I thought you were just being obnoxious. There have been a lot of rude people on recently.

Season will come, maybe not as strong as usual, but it will. Hopefully.

Interesting comments.

I was in Publix the other night and someone at the counter asked if they were hiring. The clerk behind the counter said they haven't been hiring lately but told him where he could complete and application. The applicant added "Well, maybe it will get busier during Season" and another man in line said "You mean, if we have a Season."

At this writing, I am not staying in SWFL but I'm in another very popular resort area for snowbirds.

[121804]

Originally Posted by justNancy

Interesting comments.

I was in Publix the other night and someone at the counter asked if they were hiring. The clerk behind the counter said they haven't been hiring lately but told him where he could complete and application. The applicant added "Well, maybe it will get busier during Season" and another man in line said "You mean, if we have a Season."

At this writing, I am not staying in SWFL but I'm in another very popular resort area for snowbirds.

There are lots of places in this country, even in the state of FL, to go to if you have the ability to snowbird, that are just as cheap as SWFL, if not cheaper.

While a certain segment of snowbirders will never leave SWFL due to its ability to cater to their personalities, to completely rely on every retiree moving to Fort Myers or Cape Coral...not gonna happen....

If I was a snowbirder & had the funds, I've love to go somewhere different every few years. Renting condos and apts for 4 months is cheap and easy in more places than just Fort Myers

We heard 2 years ago "Oh, once the economy picks up, baby boomers will be down here in droves." That was 2 years ago. And 2 years later, same sentence still being preached & nothing has really changed except the unemployment has gotten worse.

[justNancy]

If 121804 hadn't commented, I would have just edited my previous post. I meant to write that I am still in Florida, just not Lee or Collier County. Long story.

I agree that there are many places to stay, but FL is usually much warmer in the winter. I think Feb & Mar will be very busy, but I'm not sure if people will be spending as much. The retail stores have been really empty lately.

[hiknapster]

I think that there will be a season. I don't think it will be a splendid season but there will be a season. That is, barring any catastrophe, which is always possible.

Yes, the market pulled back yesterday and is essentially flat today, but that is to be expected. This is going to be a bumpy recovery. But give it a chance. Things looked pretty bleak almost a year ago.

We hit a low in March of what? Something like 6,500? Maybe less?

We're at almost 9,300. There could be more pullback, but I'm not too worried. A bank failed and there was a slight panic. But all week, most of the economic indicators were very promising.

Jobs are going to be the last to come.

And then there is the swFlorida factor. There were never many good jobs there. Good meaning there were a lot of minimum wage jobs and not a heck of a lot more. Even local government jobs were very, very low compared to up north. Cops, fire, teachers are the same thing.

But it will get better. The best anyone can hope for is that it will go back to the way it was; a sleepy retirement community where the lower to middle class could retire.

The following is not a full explanation, which I found before but can't seem to quickly find now, but will give you an idea of what they really count when announcing the unemployment rate.

If you really want to know how things are going, payroll hours are a much better indicator. And, in July, the tide started to turn on that, too.

We still have a long way to go but we'll get there. Hang on, friends!

http://www.bls.gov/cps/eetech_intro.pdf

[121804]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I think that there will be a season. I don't think it will be a splendid season but there will be a season. That is, barring any catastrophe, which is always possible.

Yes, the market pulled back yesterday and is essentially flat today, but that is to be expected. This is going to be a bumpy recovery. But give it a chance. Things looked pretty bleak almost a year ago.

We hit a low in March of what? Something like 6,500? Maybe less?

We're at almost 9,300. There could be more pullback, but I'm not too worried. A bank failed and there was a slight panic. But all week, most of the economic indicators were very promising.

Jobs are going to be the last to come.

And then there is the swFlorida factor. There were never many good jobs there. Good meaning there were a lot of minimum wage jobs and not a heck of a lot more. Even local government jobs were very, very low compared to up north. Cops, fire, teachers are the same thing.

But it will get better. The best anyone can hope for is that it will go back to the way it was; a sleepy retirement community where the lower to middle class could retire.

The following is not a full explanation, which I found before but can't seem to quickly find now, but will give you an idea of what they really count when announcing the unemployment rate.

If you really want to know how things are going, payroll hours are a much better indicator. And, in July, the tide started to turn on that, too.

We still have a long way to go but we'll get there. Hang on, friends!

http://www.bls.gov/cps/eetech_intro.pdf

My husband's company is starting to build an inventory again (chemical engineering)...from what he has told me & some others...that is one of the first things that gets started when some progress is being seen...

I'm in no way the SME on unemployment rates, the stock market, the RE market, etc...but I do find a lot of info from this site that can be applied, to a certain extent, to my current location. That's why I stick around It's interesting.

And, it's going to be interesting to see what "jobs" stick around and show strength. ITs & investment bankers got nailed and when I was in college, that was "THE" degree to get.

And maybe some of our jobs can come back from India

[hiknapster]

Yes! I worked at SONY in Fort Myers. Not great pay (because of the area, they know they can get away with it) but decent benefits (because that was company-wide). Last I heard, they had shipped most of those jobs to India. It was tech support, not telemarketing.

Originally Posted by 121804

My husband's company is starting to build an inventory again (chemical engineering)...from what he has told me & some others...that is one of the first things that gets started when some progress is being seen...

I'm in no way the SME on unemployment rates, the stock market, the RE market, etc...but I do find a lot of info from this site that can be applied, to a certain extent, to my current location. That's why I stick around It's interesting.

And, it's going to be interesting to see what "jobs" stick around and show strength. ITs & investment bankers got nailed and when I was in college, that was "THE" degree to get.

And maybe some of our jobs can come back from India