Monday – August 21, 2006

DELTONA’S EFFECTIVE BUYING INCOME TOPS $1.2 BILLION – Deltona’s effective buying income for 2005 was $1.2 billion, according to the Survey of Buying Power, published by Sales and Marketing Management. This compares to $1 billion generated within Daytona Beach, the county’s second leading income-generating center. Although Deltona generates the largest pool of spending income, nearly 76 percent or $963 million, is lost to other communities. The effective buying income is the estimated total of disposable income generated by a community from all sources including wages, interest, dividends, Social Security, and disability payments. The total EBI for Volusia County is $8.9 billion.

JOB FAIR SEEKS COMMUNICATION WORKERS -- Frontier Communications Solutions, the country’s seventh largest telecommunications company, will host a job fair Tuesday from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. in the company’s new communications center at 1398 S. Woodland Blvd., DeLand. More than 480 positions are available. Applicants can go online to www.onestops.com/frontier or call Katina Turner at 386/736-1371 or by email at katina.turner@frontiercorp.com.

EMPLOYERS CAN GET PAYROLL HELP FOR ACTIVE DUTY EMPLOYEES – A Citizen Soldier Program has been funded by the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation. Any Florida business that employs a Florida resident actively serving in the Armed Forces Reserves or the Florida National Guard may be reimbursed up to 50 percent of the difference between the employee's monthly wage and the active duty base pay and allowances. Funding is available on a first come, first served basis. For more details call 800/342-3450, or to go http://www.floridajobs.org/citizen_soldier/index.html.

DIALING 511 WHEN TRAVELING CAN MAKE ECONOMIC SENSE -- Rising fuel costs impact businesses and workers every day and dialing Florida’s 511 travel information system makes more sense than ever. Having direct access by telephone to traffic incident information reduces traffic congestion as motorists adjust routing to avoid delays. It has been six years since the FCC assigned the 511 number. As of December, 2005, there were 26 services operating in 23 states and more are planned. For congestion and accident conditions click to www.fl511.com.

FLORIDA LEADS NATION IN JOB CREATION -- Florida’s 2006 new job count rose to 270,900 for the year and is growing at more than twice the national rate, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Florida’s unemployment rate continues to drop with June’s average of 3.8 percent. This compares to 3.98 percent for the same period in 2005 and 4.8 percent for the same period in 2004. Volusia County’s unemployment rate is 3.1 percent.

VOLUSIA IN TOP FIVE FOR BUSINESSES WITH INSURANCE WOES – The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has reported that 17 percent of businesses responding to a survey reported they could not find insurance at any cost; 39 percent said costs were too high to pay; 15 percent found partial coverage (i.e. a $3 million business only eligible for a $1 million policy), and only 19 percent found reasonably priced coverage. The Joint Underwriting Association (JUA) has been authorized to re-active the insurance pool created after Hurricane Andrew. State insurance officials are working on a revamped insurance plan for Florida businesses and residents that may be ready by year’s end. Future plans may include incentives for the hardening of structures, better regulation of insurance companies, state-backed reinsurance, or a statewide promise to cover first flush damage.

VOLUSIA COUNTY INFLUENCED BY WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES – Last week’s Women in Business Symposium at DBCC was attended by more than 150 businesswomen who had an opportunity to network and participate in a series of key business discussions. A special thanks to the symposium’s sponsors for their support of this important event. Volusia County is home to more than 2,400 women-owned businesses that employ an estimated 20,000 workers.

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. If you wish to have your name removed from this weekly email broadcast, please let us know.