large white-collar (office) employers in Sarasota area? (Tampa, Orlando: best cities, job market)

[Ronnie555]

I've never been to Sarasota but I've heard great things about it, and many people have told me it's one of the best cities in Florida, if not the best. For a variety of reasons including aesthetics, culture, entertainment, people, etc. just overall good things, from what I've heard.

Anyway, I searched around on google and couldn't find any large employers in the area, besides Tropicana and maybe 1 or 2 others. Is it just not the type of city to have any large companies, office parks, etc. ? I might try to relocate if I could find a finance job or other office job. But it just seems that Sarasota doesn't have much of that. Am I wrong? Does any neighboring town/city have more of this?

Thank you!

[TamRE]

You may be better off going to Tampa/St. Pete, or Orlando for employment opportunities. Sarasota should have some office and finance type jobs. Here are some job search sites: www.jobfocus.com, www.employflorida.com, www.indeed.com, www.heraldtribune.com, www.simplyhired.com.

Major employers in Sarasota include: Sarasota Schools, Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Sarasota County Government, Publix, PGT Industries, Venice Regional, SunTrust Bank, City of Sarasota, Sun Hydraulics, Comcast Cable, Sunset Automotive Group, Ritz-Carlton, Goodwill Industries, Longboat Key Club and Resort, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota. Many companies also have their headquarters in Sarasota.

Some of the office parks in Sarasota include: Cattleridge Business Center, Gateway to Sarasota, Kane Plaza, Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park, North Port Park of Commerce, Palmer Park of Commerce and Sarasota City Center. There are other business parks located in Sarasota with office space, warehouse space, light manufacturing and others.

Employment is still pretty tough to find in this area, but there are some jobs out there. Good luck in your search.

[Ronnie555]

Originally Posted by TamRE

You may be better off going to Tampa/St. Pete, or Orlando for employment opportunities. Sarasota should have some office and finance type jobs. Here are some job search sites: www.jobfocus.com, www.employflorida.com, www.indeed.com, www.heraldtribune.com, www.simplyhired.com.

Major employers in Sarasota include: Sarasota Schools, Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Sarasota County Government, Publix, PGT Industries, Venice Regional, SunTrust Bank, City of Sarasota, Sun Hydraulics, Comcast Cable, Sunset Automotive Group, Ritz-Carlton, Goodwill Industries, Longboat Key Club and Resort, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota. Many companies also have their headquarters in Sarasota.

Some of the office parks in Sarasota include: Cattleridge Business Center, Gateway to Sarasota, Kane Plaza, Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park, North Port Park of Commerce, Palmer Park of Commerce and Sarasota City Center. There are other business parks located in Sarasota with office space, warehouse space, light manufacturing and others.

Employment is still pretty tough to find in this area, but there are some jobs out there. Good luck in your search.

great info. thank you for your help!

[gypsychic]

There are many small office/industrial areas in the Whitfield area (north Sarasota, 17th St., 301, old 301 (15th st.) and elsewhere. What are you looking for exactly?

Sarasota is a great place to live. It has never been known as a "job mecca" per se, our big industry here is tourism due to the arts and natural beauty of the place. We do have three colleges here (small but ever growing), a burgeoning film industry, and I'm sure others that are escaping me now. The area has been working hard to add jobs, and there are more and more coming (this includes Manatee County)

Good luck in your search.

[Ronnie555]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

There are many small office/industrial areas in the Whitfield area (north Sarasota, 17th St., 301, old 301 (15th st.) and elsewhere. What are you looking for exactly?

Sarasota is a great place to live. It has never been known as a "job mecca" per se, our big industry here is tourism due to the arts and natural beauty of the place. We do have three colleges here (small but ever growing), a burgeoning film industry, and I'm sure others that are escaping me now. The area has been working hard to add jobs, and there are more and more coming (this includes Manatee County)

Good luck in your search.

Corporate or finance jobs are what I'm looking for. I realize Sarasota isn't exactly a corporaet mecca, as you said. But pretty much any company with an office has a finance department, so there's a chance I can find something.

Colleges also definitely have jobs that I could pursue, so that's a great tip. I'll check out the 3 colleges in the area.

[JSnFla]

traditional corporate jobs are few and far between. the job market is very weak in sarasota and even the greater tampa bay area for traditionally educated corporate type job seekers. i just got another bachelors degree, this time in accounting, from USF Sarasota and took some of the classes in tampa and the st pete campus. at all campuses faculty and career services outright encourages students to look for jobs out of the area and emphasizes that this is traditioanlly not a great area for employment. most recent grads focus on places like dallas, atanta, ny, and dc for jobs.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by Ronnie555

Corporate or finance jobs are what I'm looking for. I realize Sarasota isn't exactly a corporaet mecca, as you said. But pretty much any company with an office has a finance department, so there's a chance I can find something.

Colleges also definitely have jobs that I could pursue, so that's a great tip. I'll check out the 3 colleges in the area.

Just a FYI - we live on the north end of Sarasota and my hubby commutes to downtown Tampa for his job every day. It is 51 miles, but all highway (I-75) and drops him at his parking garage. Takes about an hour and he doesn't mind at all. Don't know if you are into commuting or not, but it's do-able.