February 13, 2012
ECONOMIC
BRIEFING SHOWS VOLUSIA POISED FOR GROWTH – The Volusia County
workforce has been exceptionally stable and has grown slightly
throughout the recession. About a third of the jobs are new or
re-entrants to the job market. Industry sector employment has increased
in professional, business, healthcare and hospitality segments, while
employment in most of the other segments has stabilized. The
unemployment rate has dropped to slightly over 10 percent in the last
year. These points were the essence of the message delivered by the
county’s Economic Development Division during its recent economic
briefing covering the fourth quarter of 2011. The Q4 employment and
permitting statistics will be available soon on the Economic Development
website.
NATIONALLY, A
GOOD JOBS REPORT -- After three years of essentially lousy
employment reports, the January report was better. Job growth exceeded
expectations and occurred in almost every employment classification.
Hours worked in various sectors rose and the unemployment rate ticked
down for the fifth month in a row. The economy is growing, but at a
modest pace. Traditionally, this means greater demand for workers. One
measure is of advertised available jobs which moved to a near three-year
high in December.
VMA TO OFFER
SESSION ON PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT – The Volusia Manufacturers
Association’s Human Resources Division will present a program on
Performance Management, Coaching and Evaluation. The speaker is Gregg
Gerlach, one of the premier labor and employment lawyers in Florida. The
session will be February 14 from 7:45 - 10 a.m. in the Volusia Room at
Daytona Beach International Airport. The $45 cost includes breakfast and
free parking. To register, call Jayne Fifer at 386-673-0505, or go to:
vmaonline.com.
THIRD ANNUAL
EDGEWATER BUSINESS EXPO NEARS – The Third Annual Edgewater Expo Full
of Life will be March 30 - April 1 along the Indian River in Edgewater.
Businesses will have an opportunity to showcase themselves to the
public. The event will include music, demonstrations, carnival rides and
a 5-K run. For more information and registration, go to:
edgewaterexpo.com.
SYMPOSIUM TO
COVER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY -- The UCF Business Incubator at Daytona
Beach International Airport will present a full-day seminar February 21
on intellectual property. Experts will speak on patents, trademarks,
copyrights and how to protect business ideas. The keynote speaker at
lunch is Deb Cheslow whose topic is how to increase revenue
exponentially. The seminar is free to incubator clients but $30 for
others and includes breakfast and lunch. Seating is limited to 50
entrepreneurs. The program also is sponsored by Volusia County Economic
Development, the Small Business Development Center at Daytona State
College, and the Cobb Cole law firm. To register call the UCF Business
Incubator at 386-872-3100.
SCORE TO OFFER
SEMINARS ON THE POWER OF EMAIL MARKETING – SCORE is presenting two
free seminars on email marketing. Both are February 28 at Daytona Beach
International Airport. The first, from 9 - 10:30 a.m., will provide an
overview of how email marketing can help grow a business. The second,
from 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., is on how to get started with e-mail
marketing and includes the best templates and other tools to use, and
how to integrate email marketing with other social media tools. To
register call 386-255-6889 or go to:
score87.org.
VALENTINE’S DAY
ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD -- In Japan, women are expected to give
chocolate and other gifts to men on Valentine's Day. This tradition was
started as a marketing campaign by Japanese chocolate companies. But,
men are not off the hook. They are expected to return the favor on March
14, commonly known as White Day.
NEWS ITEMS
WANTED! – Please send your business news items to Dave Byron,
Volusia County Community Information Director, 123 W. Indiana Ave.,
DeLand, 32720-4612, by fax at (386) 822-5072 or by e-mail at
dbyron@co.volusia.fl.us.
