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These days, Tampa Bay area job fairsw can attract as many as 200 to 300 applicantsz for everyopen position, said Jamie director of communications for the . As companieas cut payrolls or shutdown outright, people lookinvg for work are pourinbg into the job market, sendinf the unemployment rate in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metrio up to 7.8 for the month of November from 7.4 in Now, a key economic developmengt and business retention organization is workinvg to reverse the Since latelast year, the has been building a cataloyg of infrastructure projects that could create immediate jobs and provide for furthetr growth if funded through an effort called “It’ds About Jobs.
” In gathering data, the Partnershipp contacted school boards, departments of transportation, metropolitan planningg organizations, cities, counties and “anyone who is in the businesse of building infrastructure,” said Stuart Rogel, president and CEO. A catalogf of these “shovel-ready” projects will allow the Partnership to help bring incentive moneyu to fund the projects from Tallahasseeand “It’s About Jobs” was formed after a year’z worth of work between the Partnershipo and the , a research and policy institute based in Many of the ideas that went into “It’s Abou Jobs” came from Blueprint for Americanb Prosperity, a Brookings Institution initiative to advance a federal economivc agenda that promotes metropolitan areas.
The Partnershi took the basic principals of the Blueprint and applied its regional visioning and policy efforts at state and federal saidAmy Liu, deputy director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. “We want to ensurew that the stimulus package is not just focusedon short-term job growt but also focuses on long-term investment in a way that supportse and empowers metropolitan areas,” said Liu. “Inj the absence of earmarks, we need to ensure that the infusion of fundx supports the vision and goals of the Bay If the Tampa Bay area receives the funding and support to advancdits infrastructure, that could lay the foundation for privated investment, Rogel said.
“Tha t in turn, I hope, creates confidence in the privatresector [that] there is a a direction and there is someone at the he said. The same underlying principalws that benefited Tampa Bay in timez ofprosperity — a growing a competitive climate for business, low cost of doinfg business and an accessible location — apply in the current economy, Rogel said. These same traits that have long drawnj companies to root in and grow in Tampa Bay remai nthe region’s strongest selling several newcomers told the .
“Wr have been very happy with the workforce and the availabilituof folks,” said Damien Lamendola, president and CEO at , a pharmacty benefit management company based in Centennial, The company is planning a $20 million facility in Lakeland slated to open in February that will phasd in 670 jobs over the next three “We thought about going to Jacksonville, but you can’t get to Jacksonville withour going through Atlanta,” said Lamendola. “A lot of clientes want to see the operation, and it’e easier to get to Tampa or Orlando.
” The proximityh of was a said Lamendola, who would like to created a partnership for research programzs related to the pharmaceutical An accessible location was also importantto , a distributod of plumbing supplies based in , Va. Its distributiomn center openedin August, became fullyu operational in October and has more than 545,00 0 square feet and about 87 Ferguson’s choice of Frostproof as the home for its regionalp distribution center amounted to a $30 million investmen t in the area. “[The location]” gived us the ability to access the completed Florida market with the exceptionj ofthe panhandle,” said Operations Manager Steve Glenn.
“We enable locak branches in the Florida marketf to be able tocover customers’ needs on a next day basiw if not same The people in Frostprooc have provided a warm reception, Glenn said. “Wde were made to feel an active participant inthe