Booming Naples Florida Economy Helps Businesses And Careers Grow Fast

By Jony Mozen


Naples is a beautiful city on the Gulf Coast in Collier County, FL. The tourism sector is the cornerstone of the Naples Florida economy, which is now vibrant with a fast-growing retail sector, real estate developments and other business growth. The city and surrounding communities in the metro area are also a retiree paradise, and their huge nest eggs lavishly spent on property and retail goods further fuel the economic growth and high rate of job creation.

The biggest draw is unquestionably the 10 miles of soft white beach sand. It helps that the Everglades are so close to the city, which also has its own share of tourist attractions and landmarks. Together, all this makes it one of the Sunshine State's most popular destinations. It's a significant accomplishment since Orlando and Miami usually hog all the international visitors and the families on summer holidays.

The Travel Channel has voted the beach here as the best one in America, but visitors actually have more choice because there are six beaches in the area. If that's not enough, there are more than 80 championship golf courses to keep residents and the huge flock of retirees happy and interested.

Of course, it's not always been such a feel-good story. This city, the same as every Gulf Coast community in Florida, has faced significant challenges in the past. The real estate crash sent property prices plummeting and millions of homes were foreclosed. The tourism business was completely destroyed when the BP oil spill hit the beaches and tourists stayed away for a couple of years.

By Jan 2010, the city's unemployment rate had shot up to 12.2 percent. It took a couple of years to reverse the slide, but things started improving by leaps and bounds in 2012. The tourists came back in droves, the economy improved and wealthy retirees have once again started pumping money into the retail and real estate sectors.

The Naples metro area now has the largest job growth rate among America's 200 largest metros. The unemployment rate has dropped steeply to a mere 5.4%, and the median household income has risen to $56,759. Predicted job growth all the way through to 2016 has been pegged at a stunning 4.1% annual rate.

Of course, such an amazing turnaround and huge growth doesn't happen in a vacuum. No doubt the brilliant year-round sunshine, white sand beaches, Naples Bay and the Everglades are invaluable natural resources that attract tourists and retirees like moths to a flame. Even so, it takes a great deal more to recruit businesses and investments that support this level of job creation.

It's the low taxation and other business-friendly policies that companies say they liked when choosing where to locate. Officials representing the city and county work with the State of Florida, Greater Naples Chamber and other organizations to help provide businesses with everything needed to grow and create new jobs. The best part is that hiring and retaining valuable employees is very easy because of the great work-life balance and the high quality of life. Employees relocate here not just for a job, but because they want to build a home and a career in Naples.




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