Jobs take center stage at Tallahassee Chamber conference on Amelia Island

While Tallahassee's economy holds steady, the need for more jobs will continue to be the buzzword at the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce conference this weekend in Amelia Island.

The four-day conference is the largest networking and information event of the year, attracting the celebrities of the private, public and nonprofit sectors. It offers workshops on real estate trends, insights into Florida's political landscape and upcoming elections, and Tallahassee's booming healthcare sector.

This comes at a time when some experts say the local economy is a mixed picture, adding that more can be done to accelerate job growth. Others say there is much to celebrate compared to the same period last year.

Just last month, the city's airport was forced to suspend service with JetBlue. In a single night and with a surprise decision, the airline reversed a decade-long effort by business leaders, city governments and elected officials to bring the airline to Florida's capital.

On the other hand, companies like Amazon have created more than 2,000 jobs with the opening of its robotic fulfillment center in September 2023 – representing the largest private investment in Tallahassee's history.

Danfoss Turbocor has opened its new $60 million, 140,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Innovation Park. It is the fourth expansion in Tallahassee for the world's leading manufacturer of oil-free magnetic bearing compressors. The company already employed nearly 300 people and the new facility created another 50 or so new jobs.

Tallahassee city officials also continue to tout a trade publication's conclusion that the Tallahassee region ranks first in the nation in terms of its growing economy.

New jobs have also been created in the public sector, including in the state of Florida and the city of Tallahassee. Sue Dick, president and CEO of the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, said Florida State University has added about 400 new facilities-related jobs in the past two years.

“It just doesn't blow people away,” Dick said, adding that continued efforts to increase the number of jobs in Tallahassee must be a priority. “I mean, that's a lot and that's a story in itself.”

The community must commit to creating jobs in the private sector and support the engines in our community that drive our growth, such as the universities and their work.”

Great interest in this year’s Chamber Conference

The conference at the Ritz-Carlton Resort is sold out with 550 participants.

There will be a captive audience eager to listen to and participate in the open and private discussions around job creation.

Keith Bowers, director of the Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality, said Tallahassee is in a “good position for job creation,” adding that the overall employment landscape can fluctuate due to seasonal work, such as when fewer college students are in the city during the summer months.

“So our employment and unemployment numbers typically increase from May to July and then stabilize in August when students return,” Bowers said. “But that's just a small fraction. For example, the unemployment rate in Tallahassee, Leon County, is currently 3.9%. So those numbers bode very well for the stability of our economy.”

Bowers also said that OEV is working on 16 active projects under the cloak of confidentiality while the department continues to negotiate incentives with companies looking to relocate to Tallahassee or expand operations there. If all the projects move forward, about 360 new jobs will be created, according to Bowers.

However, since the last conference, Tallahassee has suffered some setbacks, including restaurant and business closures and losses at Tallahassee International Airport.

Perhaps the biggest blow came when JetBlue Airways announced it would eliminate its only TLH route after just seven months in the Tallahassee market. A $20 million deal with Colorado-based Burrell Aviation also fell through after the company defaulted on its lease obligations. Burrell Aviation was expected to create an estimated 290 permanent jobs and over 250 temporary construction jobs.

Another candidate for job creation is North American Aerospace Industries, a company specializing in the dismantling and recycling of aircraft, nicknamed “Project Alpha” during the negotiation phase. The company is expected to create 985 permanent jobs and 1,443 temporary construction jobs, with a total economic impact of $450 million.

But since the city government revealed the mysterious company two years ago, there has been little news.

Economic experts like Mark Wilson have long said Tallahassee relies too heavily on the public sector for job creation. Wilson, president and CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, said about 25 percent of Leon County's regional growth product (GRP) comes from the state.

He said about 30% of Leon County's workforce works in government, which is more than other comparable capital cities. He gave three examples: Madison, Wisconsin, with 20%, Lincoln, Nebraska, with 20% and Montgomery, Alabama, with 25%.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce recommends that Tallahassee create about 15,700 jobs by 2030, and that number rises to 23,000 jobs from a regional perspective, Wilson said. He added that Tallahassee could do more to promote regional economic diversity and maximize assets and research at local universities, which would directly lead to new jobs.

“We have the world's only hypersonic wind tunnel available for research and development,” Wilson said, referring to FSU's facility, which is at the forefront of high-speed aerospace research.

“We have companies in aerospace, automotive. We have energy companies that literally come to Tallahassee every few weeks to take advantage of the benefits we have here,” he continued. “So what do we need to do to create an ecosystem where these people actually live here and set up offices to do their own research and eventually manufacture?”

The conference should include discussions about the need for a community plan that focuses heavily on job creation, Wilson said. He is disappointed that such a plan does not yet exist and has called on the business community, city, county and school board to agree on a path forward and to share ideas about Tallahassee's job prospects at regular meetings.

“If the county, the city, the Chamber of Commerce and the school board reported on five or six metrics at the beginning of every single week – not just once a year, but every week – it would stimulate conversations, public comment and commissioners on what needs to happen to create the right 23,000 jobs in this region,” Wilson said.

President of Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce does not participate in social media posts criticizing the conference

The question is whether a consensus can be reached in the community in the current political climate, which has become fraught. This year's conference again comes just days before a bitter primary election that could determine the majority in City Hall.

There will be several candidates in attendance vying for a win in the primary, such as Leon County Real Estate Appraiser Akin Akinyemi, but based on the turnout, there will not be a large pool of candidates.

Several high-ranking city officials are expected to attend, though City Commissioner Curtis Richardson appears to be the only city-side elected official who is registered. County Commissioner Brian Welch and Commission Chair Carolyn Cummings are both registered and have challengers in the general election.

As in years past, Tallahassee City Councilman Jeremy Matlow and the Leon County Democratic Party, led by Matlow's assistant Ryan Ray, are questioning the conference's value to the common good of Tallahassee residents, calling it a taxpayer-funded “trip” for local elected officials.

Jobs take center stage at Tallahassee Chamber conference on Amelia Island

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