The city’s economic outlook is looking brighter as we ring in the new year. Driven by a combination of population growth, job creation, and expansions across several key sectors.
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Aviation is playing a pivotal role in Jacksonville’s economic growth, and this airport is leading the charge with two new airlines in just the past year.
At Jacksonville International Airport, two new airlines—Avelo and Breeze—have introduced one-way destination routes, which are expected to boost tourism. Greg Willis with the Jacksonville Aviation Authority took us through how the airport is preparing for this increase in visitors.
“We’re also an airline that values partnership. With Jacksonville, we had great partnerships with the airport. It makes sense for us to try service here as the next place for our expansion,” Greg Willis, Jacksonville Aviation Authority said.
It’s not just JIA making waves. Cecil Airport recently welcomed the first hypersonic aircraft testing facility, bringing with it 100 high-paying tech jobs, each offering a salary of more than $100,000. Matt Bocchino, Director of Cecil Airport, explains the importance of this development.
“This is a huge deal for the airport and the city due to the high-paying tech jobs they are bringing to the city,” Matt Bocchino, Director of Cecil Airport said.
In addition to the aviation industry, Jacksonville’s financial tech footprint is expanding with a brand-new city partnership with finance company Intercontinental Exchange - also known as (ICE). The city incentives require the company to maintain its 1500 current jobs and bring in 500 more.
“We had a good economic development year last year is even better. We have so many opportunities economic development wise to invest in projects all over town in Jacksonville, University of Florida, the MOSH,” City Councilman at large Matt Carlucci said.
The rest of metro Jacksonville is also seeing gains in its workforce. FloridaCommerce announced that the area’s labor force increased by 3.8 percent for all of 2023, adding over 32,000 new workers. It specifies that in the same year, the private sector saw a 3.4 percent increase in employment, adding 24,200 jobs.
“We’re seeing a lot of interest in Jacksonville in both the office, financial services, particularly, sector as well as manufacturing and distribution,” Kirk Wenland, Executive Director, City of Jacksonville Office of Economic Development said.
In fact, in 2024 the area’s private sector employment grew by 1.5 percent through November, adding 10,600 jobs.
As we look to 2025, it’s clear that Jacksonville is on the rise, with promising developments across the region.
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