As Rose Ferlita and Bob Buckhorn battle it out to see who will lead the city of Tampa over the next four years, a new report indicates what a hole the city is in at this moment.
On Monday, the Brookings Institute released their latest report on the top 100 metro economies in the country based on 16 measures. Although Tampa was not given a specific ranking out of that top 100, the statistical data that the organization does release indicates that the area is among the worst in the nation in several key benchmarks.
For example, foreclosures. Of the top 100 metro areas studied, foreclosure rates dropped in an overwhelming 86 of those areas — Tampa was among the 14 where foreclosures increased during the last quarter of 2010. And on unemployment, 65 of the top 100 metro areas saw their unemployment rate decrease — and Tampa was not in that group.
