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December 9, 2021
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
ECONOMIC FORECAST ISSUE JACKSONVILLE
Daily Record THE
CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR
2022
Daily Record T Record Daily JACKSONVILLE
BY KAREN BRUNE MATHIS • EDITOR
JACKSONVILLE
wenty Northeast Florida leaders in business, government, transportation, nonprofits, entertainment, real estate, law and more have a consensus on the No. 1 issue they are facing in 2022. It’s all about people. Finding employees and serving customers along with the increased cost of labor emerged among their greatest challenges as the economy recovers from the pandemic shutdowns that started in March 2020. They also face higher costs, supply chain issues, economic uncertainty and inflationary pressures as well as the need to focus on cybersecurity. They also know there are opportunities. In this special issue, business leaders share their strategies and views about what’s ahead.
LEADER INSIGHT, PAGES 4-7
The economic outlook: ‘Jacksonville’s recovery is on the fast track’ Northeast Florida employment is up but leisure and hospitality jobs have yet to catch up with prepandemic levels.
BY MARK BASCH CONTRIBUTING WRITER
It took 19 months, but employment at Jacksonville area businesses finally recovered to its pre-pandemic level in September. While COVID-19 remains a threat to the economy, the outlook for 2022 is brighter for
Northeast Florida. “Jacksonville’s recovery is on the fast track,” said PNC Bank Senior Economist Abbey Omodunbi. “Nonfarm payroll employment is just over 1% above the pre-crisis level compared to Florida, which is 1.9% below, and the U.S. which is 2.8% below,” he said.
Employers in the Jacksonville metropolitan area of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties reported 741,000 nonfarm jobs on their payrolls in October, compared with a prepandemic peak of 732,000 in February 2020. The business sector hardest hit by the pandemic, leisure and hospitality, has still
not caught up. October jobs are 7,900 below the February 2020 level of 86,100. However, a couple of key industries for the region are growing. Financial activities businesses had 4,500 more jobs in October than in February 2020 and conSEE OUTLOOK, PAGE 6
The 2021 top deals and newsmakers COMING DECEMBER 30
VOLUME 109, NO. 18 • TWO SECTIONS