Writer: Esteban Pages
2 min read August 2023 — Continued interest rate hikes, prevalent inflation and a looming recession has much of the country preparing for turbulent times ahead, while Florida shows resilience with strong economic growth.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce has outlined an ambitious blueprint to propel the state from the 15th to the 10th largest economy worldwide by 2030. The plan focuses on the pillars of talent supply and education, innovation and economic development, infrastructure and growth leadership, business climate and competitiveness, civic and governance systems and quality of life and places. With an estimated 26 million people expected to call Florida their home by 2030, the state is positioned to become a top global business competitor.
However, the growing population has generated pressures on housing supply as the available inventory cannot keep up with demand, particularly in counties such as Broward. This continues fueling the highest inflation rates in the country, while other regions of the country have seen inflation stabilize.
“We have residents who work in tourism and they need to get to work in cities they cannot afford to live in. The Chamber wants to encourage quality places to live, work and play,” said Peter Mason, executive director of Tamarac North Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce in an interview with Invest:. “We will continue supporting small businesses with the goal of keeping dollars in our city. We want to promote our hometown businesses. We have a responsibility toward the area, and we will continue to help small businesses stay well maintained and up to date. We also want to gather and harness data to improve our promotional efforts. The City’s responsibility is to get businesses open; our responsibility is to keep them open.”
A year-on-year comparison between 3Q22 and 3Q23 shows Florida’s economy grew by 3.5% – nearly doubling the national economy growth of 2%. The overall favorable environment for businesses is a window of opportunity for chambers of commerce to reinvent, refocus and evolve their traditional focus, according to Keith Blackburn, president & CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale LGBT Chamber of Commerce. “The future is here in a lot of ways and I see the Chamber expanding on technology and events. The front section of our office is a local visitor center but as many continue to work remotely and members prefer Zoom meetings, it may not be necessary to have a physical office space. We may be trying upcoming small workshops for members in our physical office to see how that goes. We are testing the waters and seeing what things look like going forward for our members. We are very open to change and know we can’t count on today’s reality being the same in one or five years down the road,” said Blackburn.
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