Mobile-based ST Aerospace came to Pensacola looking for employees March 20, and company officials say they were pleased by the turnout for a recruitment and informational session coordinated by the local workforce investment board – CareerSource Escarosa – and hosted by Pensacola State College.
Mississippi-based Southern Pipe and Supply opened its newest branch location about three weeks ago in Navarre. The company is leasing a facility at 7534 Navarre Parkway, previously occupied by Bayview Flooring and Interiors.
Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce Chairman Gary Huston appeared before the Santa Rosa County Commission at their March 13 meeting, providing an update on activities since the departure of former chief executive Jim Hizer in August 2013.
“If you have to work more, you should get paid more” – those were the words last week of President Barack Obama as he directed Secretary of Labor Tom Perez to look at overhauling the nation’s laws regarding overtime. Obama went on to say that in his view, if more workers got fatter paychecks, they could spend more and stimulate the economy.
Santa Rosa County’s unemployment rate for January 2014 is 5.9 percent, which is lower than both the state and national averages. Florida’s unemployment rate for January was 6.1 percent, the lowest since June 2008 when the state average stood at 6 percent.
Local economic development representatives spent part of the first week in March at a trade show in California working to lure jobs and investment back to northwest Florida, and according to Santa Rosa County Economic Development Director Shannon Ogletree, it was a very productive trip.
The U.S. Small Business Administration March 11 conducted a webinar to share best practices for mitigating spring weather risks and getting businesses up and running after a storm. While many in Florida think first of tropical systems and severe weather, tornadoes can strike any time of the year with strong early-season twisters often targeting northwest Florida.
