Collier County FL : Cities Ranked Among Best Performing for Job Creation and Retention

Collier County Cities Ranked Among Best Performing for Job Creation and Retention

Naples, Immokalee and Marco Island have been ranked 15th on the Milken Institute's Best Performing Cities Report. The area soared 45 spots from 60th in 2014.

'Exceptional performance on job and recent wage growth fueled this rise up in the rankings. It ranks third for job gains in 2014, experiencing growth of 10 percent over the past five years,' according to the report. 'The region also ranked second for wage increases on the one-year measure.'

The nonpartisan economic think tank looks at job creation, wage gains and technology trends that shape current and potential patterns for growth as part of its criteria.

The Naples, Immokalee, Marco Island region was praised for the high tech gross domestic product expansion, which was 6 percent over the national average and 10 percent higher over the past five years.

In addition, the report cited the area's high quality of life and warm weather that beckons retirees and tourists, driving increased activity in the construction industry and boosted demand for leisure services. The report noted the food services and drinking places sector that added more than 3,100 jobs in the area in the past five years and four times as many single-family building permits were issued in 2014 than in 2009, a significant increase in the demand for housing.

The implementation of the Business & Economic Development Business Plan, which was adopted by the Board of County Commissioners, and the resulting private-public partnerships with Opportunity Naples and the Southwest Florida Economic Development Alliance were instrumental to this explosive growth, according to contact Jace Kentner, interim director of the Collier County Office of Business and Economic Development. The community collaboration in the creation of the Soft Landing Business Accelerator and the momentum it has created in the high tech and biotech sectors has set Collier County on its positive trajectory, Kentner said.

The full report can be accessed here: http://www.best-cities.org/2015/best-performing-cities-report-2015.pdf.

For more information, contact Jace Kentner at [phone].