Worst Place for Jobs (Cape Coral, Fort Myers: real estate, appliances, vacation home)

[hiknapster]

Forbes voted Cape Coral-Fort Myers the worst place for jobs in the country this spring. It's net employment outlook is -16 percent. By the way, Naples was voted sixth.

This is just a fair warning for people planning to move but need to have a job but have nothing lined up.

Where The Jobs Are, Spring 2009 - Forbes.com

[TANaples]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Forbes voted Cape Coral-Fort Myers the worst place for jobs in the country this spring. It's net employment outlook is -16 percent. By the way, Naples was voted sixth.

This is just a fair warning for people planning to move but need to have a job but have nothing lined up.

Where The Jobs Are, Spring 2009 - Forbes.com

and Tourists, is going to make it worse with the elimination of service jobs for SEASON. When there aren't very many year round jobs to begin with, not surprised at all that it would be 16%.

Don't count on county or school jobs either. They are laying off too.

[Jammie]

Hiknapster, thank you for posting it. At least parts of our country are still keeping their heads above water. I was also happy and greatful to see that a city very close to me is on there. (The list of booming areas)

HMMMM, guess that story kind of blows a post I just read right out of the water. It was something to the effect that the people who vacation in Fla. are more of a nuisance and an added cost then they contribute to the economy. This story kind of backs up the same line of thought I had.

[nhkev]

we only have 30 more days to find out if they were right. article was written in march predicting by end of june. as of last week unemployment went down... could be a fluke but I believe lee county recieved a pretty good chunk of money for roadways from stimulus package , may be picking up the utitlity expansion, in north cape again ( bad for homeowners ) but good for potential construction jobs, and with the increase in real estate transactions , workers attached to real estate , banking, should be doing better, and new home buyers should also be supporting home improvement stores , furniture, appliances. none of which is sustainable but may help get through a very tough time. with all said, I agree with hiknapster intial premise "if you need to work to live find a job before moving it is a depressed employment market."

[TANaples]

Originally Posted by Jammie

Hiknapster, thank you for posting it. At least parts of our country are still keeping their heads above water. I was also happy and greatful to see that a city very close to me is on there. (The list of booming areas)

The father of the child I worked with 1:1 in school had been out of work in Florida for over a year. One Monday the mother came in to say Tuesday would be his last day in school. His Dad got a job in N. Dakota. She was SO happy.

I guess some parts of the country are doing ok.

[Jammie]

Originally Posted by TANaples

The father of the child I worked with 1:1 in school had been out of work in Florida for over a year. One Monday the mother came in to say Tuesday would be his last day in school. His Dad got a job in N. Dakota. She was SO happy.

I guess some parts of the country are doing ok.

That's wonderful news. I'm sure they'll be welcomed and happy. It gets terribly cold up there, but you've gotta feed your family, too. I actually live in the southern part of South Dakota and we're holding our own. Our unemployment rate has gone up, but we had some towns/cities that were at 2.3% about a year ago. Right now we still have a few cities that are as low as 3%. Right around this area it's between 4 and 6% though. I'm still greatful that it's even that good.

Wyoming is another state that is doing very well. My other neighboring states~Iowa and Nebr. are doing ok, too. Unfortunately, my neighbor to the east is suffering a bit~Minn. I think a few of the residents wandered into our state and found employment in Sx. Falls. Just glad that there are still a few places where people can find work. I've seen stats of several areas of the country and things don't look good. I honestly think things are going to improve, but it'll take time.

[JSnFla]

tampa is not much better...the tampa bay area is an economic wasteland, its really, really bad here and people are leaving in numbers

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Jammie

Hiknapster, thank you for posting it. At least parts of our country are still keeping their heads above water. I was also happy and greatful to see that a city very close to me is on there. (The list of booming areas)

HMMMM, guess that story kind of blows a post I just read right out of the water. It was something to the effect that the people who vacation in Fla. are more of a nuisance and an added cost then they contribute to the economy. This story kind of backs up the same line of thought I had.

I thought of you, Jammie, when I read the list. In fact, your area has been doing better than a lot of other places in the country for awhile now, and I always think of you and how you wanted to move to Florida. I am so glad that you didn't.

There are some great deals in southwest Florida, but for the moment, it would be best for retirees, vacation homes and investors that want something for down the road. Just stay away from those drywall houses.

[aidaolympia]

Tourism "could be" important for the future economic development of Cape Coral.
Visitors' spending in transportation, recreation, entertainment, accommodation, retail, food, etc. "could have" a direct and indirect impact on production, jobs, wages and taxes.
But in Cape Coral during construction boom there was no relationship between developers and the city council to build for a mixed-use resort and real estate development. The city did not invest in its tourism and relied only on property taxes as source of income.

Cape Coral has no future plan and is just drifting. There is no reason prices not to fall even further. The unemployment rate of 16% does not include the ones without "the paper". 2/3 of employment was construction related.

[Jammie]

Hik, I'm so glad we didn't move there either. One year ago in March we nearly headed down there. What a mistake that would've been!!! That's right around the time that the bottom fell out and we'd have been in terrible shape. No jobs yet still the high cost of housing at that time. And yea, that Chinese drywall situation isn't over yet and there will be a lot of people who will suffer because of it either financially or healthwise. I still love the tropical setting of Fla. and of course the warmth, but home doesn't look so bad when you look around at some other areas. We've definitely been blessed because our economy has only slumped a bit.