When the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season officially ended Nov. 30, what was assessed as a season of overall average activity also emerged as one of the costliest on record, a pain that Floridians throughout the state still keenly feel. But while those in the massive Hurricane Nicole’s path largely bounced back faster than those in the aftermath of the Category 4 Hurricane Ian’s direct hit to a region unaccustomed to Mother Nature’s powerfully destructive forces, how the long-term, far-ranging economic ripple effects of that one-two punch will play out in the Greater Orlando region are still not yet fully realized. 

For Southwest Florida’s entrepreneurs who once served a steady stream of locals and tourists alike, it’s not just a matter of rebuilding their personal lives: It’s wondering how their restaurants, shops, experiential offerings and other local-business livelihoods can safely reopen to the public—and if not, often leaving those business owners to ask if they should abandon the enterprise altogether or pick up and start anew elsewhere. 

“In Central Florida, [Hurricane Ian] for us was an enormous water event. … We did have some businesses impacted but it was nothing like what happened to Southwest Florida, which was devastating,” says Pam Nabours, president/CEO of CareerSource Central Florida. “It’s really too early to tell whether people or businesses will migrate up here. That’s what I’m keeping an eye on, if what happened in the Southwest Florida area will have an impact on people and/or businesses moving into Central Florida.”

Nabours, who’s served in her role since 2012, has spent her career in workforce development. CareerSource’s many services include connecting residents with careers, developing skilled talent for area businesses, and partnering with regional companies and higher education to further refine the regional workforce board’s position as a labor-market nexus.

Even with the constant presence of unrealized unknowns at play, her professional perspective and lived-in experience on both sides of the employer/employee relationship allow Nabours to paint an optimistic picture of the Greater Orlando economy and its employment numbers—especially since she says Florida in general and the region specifically aren’t facing the challenges other parts of the country are bitterly battling, especially with a resurging tourism industry acting as a significant economic safeguard.

“We’re very privileged to live in a region of Florida that has really maintained continual growth. … In Central Florida, we are this destination spot. We’ve seen our airport traffic come back so substantially from what it was pre-pandemic, it’s amazing—it’s nonstop!” she says, adding that the “low tourism months of January, May and September don’t even happen anymore.” 

She continues: “I actually sit on the Workforce Development Council of the Conference of Mayors and have colleagues all across the country, from New York and New Jersey, and I used to live in Connecticut, and everything was delayed there because COVID had more of an impact, which did make a difference on the economy.”

Within a month of Hurricane Ian carving its relentless path across the Sunshine State, the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Forecasting (IEF) released its most recent quarterly Florida & Metro Forecast, with in-demand national economist and IEF director Dr. Sean Snaith at the helm of a report that breaks down recent factors influencing the economy of the state and all 22 of its metropolitan areas. 

Among the forecast’s key takeaways for the Orlando region include its continued status as a powerhouse in hospitality and tourism, as indicated by its numerous attractions, hotels and conference facilities and identifying the Orlando-Kissimmee metropolitan statistical area (MSA) as home to Florida’s fourth-highest gross metro product level, indicating the monetary value of its services and goods. 

While Orlando saw 59.3 million visitors in 2021, a veritable 68.1% spike after the pandemic’s 2020 dip, the city proper is aiming to see 80 million visitors by 2024. In a further boost to those numbers, The Florida & Metro Forecast notes that President Joe Biden ended the requirements stating that foreign travelers must test negative for COVID-19 before entering the U.S. on June 12, a move lauded by Sunshine State officials: 38 Florida mayors had previously sent a letter to the president asking him to lift international travel restrictions.

“This news comes right on time for the summer season—one of the most anticipated seasons for travel—and we can expect to welcome an increased number of visitations from global travelers, business to thrive and a positive impact of our economy,” Denise Spiegel, Visit Orlando’s senior director, public relations, says in the report. 

But tourism isn’t the only economic force in the local limelight. The MSA’s growing technology presence is seen in previous developments, like Osceola County securing a promising business partnership with semiconductor supplier SkyWater Technology, estimated to create 220 jobs by 2026.Those tech jobs typically come with pay that handily eclipses local expectations, like the 50 new jobs created by drone startup Hoverfly Technologies’ Sanford headquarters averaging a $60,376 annual salary—20% more the county’s average wage. 

According to Danielle Permenter, vice president of talent and community development at the Orlando Economic Partnership (OEP), boosting the region’s employment numbers and connecting the right people with the right jobs is a continually cultivated labor of love, with both inclusivity and eliminating barriers to gainful employment at the forefront of that effort. 

And while job creation is important, so is making those roles accessible to candidates who have the requisite skill set, even if they lack formal qualifications. That’s why she and the OEP are advocating for changes in how employers structure job openings, like appealing to individuals with an associate’s degree and relevant job skills instead of zeroing in on potential employees with a four-year college degree and no professional experience. 

Permenter points out that demanding a bachelor’s degree as a job requirement can belie unconscious biases perpetuating the systemic oppression of marginalized populations, since about 44% of the region’s talent pool ages 25 to 65 have an associate’s degree or higher, while 37% of the Hispanic and 33% of the Black communities do.  

“We often say that you’ll get hired for the hard skills and fired for the soft skills. You’ve got to have those soft skills, but I like to call them ‘power skills,’” Permenter says. “They’re transferable from a lot of entry-level positions, especially in our travel and leisure and hospitality industries. Orlando is known for its customer service, and to create upper mobility with somebody who has those great power skills as a foundation is critical.” 

In response to increasingly inhibitive job postings that alienate too many proficient potential applicants, especially after COVID’s furloughs and downsizing thrust countless Central Florida workers into professional and financial uncertainty, the OEP launched numerous intertwining programs, reports and initiatives to highlight those handily transferrable “power skills, underscoring the untapped potential in filling critical roles with nontraditional but no less capable candidates. 

“When employers lead with ‘four-year degree required, master’s preferred,’ on job postings, they’re automatically eliminating a great majority of our very talented and diverse workforce,” Permenter explains. She adds that’s why it’s important to implement a skills-based hiring strategy, or one that mindfully drills a job listing down to its most crucial elements without all the fluff and jargon designed to identify ideal candidates at the expense of someone with almost all of the necessary skills who’s too intimidated to apply, despite being able to do the work. 

She continues: “Employer Outcomes Implementing Skill-Based Hiring” is the fourth report OEP has put out under its Re-Imaging series and is part of the overall UpSkill Orlando initiative, for which JPMorgan Chase is a sponsor. They’re all part of OEP’s ongoing attempts to shift employment mindsets, encouraging employers to craft job-opening descriptions that cast a wider net and highlight a more inclusive range of skills instead of appealing to a unicorn candidate who might not actually exist.”

“We have found that having extremely hard-core requirements closes out our candidate pool. Without extreme requirements, we have over 500 applicants in our pipeline,” PJ Spelios, vice president of talent at all-in-one payment processing platform Stax, says of embracing a skills-based hiring philosophy. “Overall, when job posts are more relatable, people feel more comfortable applying.” 

It’s important to ensure that everyone has a chance to find their footing in potentially life-changing, upwardly mobile employment opportunities. Hospitality and leisure, of course, continue to not only dominate but also feed into other businesses like restaurants, entertainment venues, retail, tours and other local experiences, and the foreseeably sustained growth in technology overall gets an extra boost from the region’s thriving aerospace industry, as well as more and more cybersecurity and semiconductor manufacturing companies gravitating to the Sunshine State. 

The decades-long trend of Florida seeing an annual influx of new residents from the rest of the country and abroad hasn’t abated one bit. But there are myriad newer trends the state’s employers need to adapt to, though, including a revamped approach to not only attracting and retaining top talent. Nabours notes that among the most impactful shifts is delivering on the options employees have come to expect from “the new normal,” especially since many new Floridians were able to relocate because they’re able to work remotely—one of the many so-called perks that employers will have to embrace to ensure theirs is a long-term labor force.

“We are doing a lot more business service to help companies adjust to these changes,” Nabours says. “The other big sea change is adapting to a more hybrid environment, helping job seekers and businesses understand that. And we, as a career center, also have to change how we do things in order to go into communities, go where the people are, rather than expecting people to come to us. And I think that really speaks to how businesses have to go find candidates for their open positions, too.”