A new economic report regarding the Tampa Bay area has produced mixed results.
According to the Tampa Bay Regional Economic Scorecard released Tuesday morning, the Bay area added 15,500 jobs from the 3rd quarter of 2010 to the 3rd quarter of 2011, the biggest job increase since the summer of 2007. That was right before the sub-prime mortgage crisis rocked the region, laying the foundation for the recession that followed.
But despite that gain, Tampa Bay remains fifth overall among six of its regional rivals, the fourth straight time it has been that low in these quarterly reports. The Tampa Bay area’s economy includes eight counties, from Citrus to Sarasota.
The scorecard measures the six economic driver categories of employment and workforce; income and productivity; housing; innovation; education; and transportation; and compares the region’s economic performance against Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Jacksonville, and Raleigh-Durham.
One place where Tampa Bay ranked first, believe it or not, was in transportation.
