Things To Do In SW Florida

TALLAHASSEE — Construction jobs showed an uptick for the first time in 2023 as Florida’s near-historic low unemployment rate remained unchanged in June.

The Florida Department of Commerce on Friday announced the jobless rate remained at 2.6%, unchanged since it was 2.7% in December.

For metro Orlando, the rate was 3% in June, up from 2.7% a month earlier.

The June statewide rate represented an estimated 280,000 Floridians qualified as unemployed, up 3,000 from May, from a labor force that grew by 41,000 to 10.998 million.

Lindsay Volpe, deputy secretary of the department’s Division of Workforce Services, said Florida’s rate likely will see little change in the near future. It is slightly above the all-time low of 2.4%, last seen in June 2006.

“This stability is thanks, in part, to Florida’s growing labor force,” Volpe said during a conference call with reporters. “Floridians are confident entering the workforce to find meaningful employment.”

Employment in the construction sector showed an estimated 4,000 new jobs in June, reversing a five-month decline. read more

By Sally French | NerdWallet

Camping can be one of the cheapest ways to travel. Yet a relatively new style of camping is proliferating — by some metrics — and it’s glamping.

Glamping is a fusion of luxury and nature, where tents are filled with plush pillows, and some even have private bathrooms with heated, running water. Campgrounds typically are outfitted with fast Wi-Fi, and such camping activities as pitching a tent and starting a fire are already done for you. But the blend of outdoor glamor with hotel comfort commands prices more expensive than those of high-end hotels. It’s also a sharp contrast to what traditional campers spend.

U.S. national park visitors in 2021 spent, on average, $351 daily per group on traditional lodging outside the parks, such as hotels or bed-and-breakfast establishments. Parties who camped spent just $149, according to a Department of the Interior 2021 visitor spending report. That’s a 58% discount for visitors willing to exchange concrete for canvas. But canvas doesn’t always connote cost savings. That is, if you’re glamping. read more

MERRITT ISLAND — Amazon and Jeff Bezos have big plans to launch thousands of satellites from the Space Coast, hoping to play catchup and compete with Elon Musk and SpaceX’s Starlink service. To speed up the process, it’s going to build a $120 million facility to prep those satellites just miles from the launch pad.

The company announced Friday it has agreed to expand into Florida with Project Kuiper, the name for its future broadband satellite network, by setting up a 100,000-square-foot processing facility at a nearly 80-acre site at the Kennedy Space Center’s former Shuttle Landing Facility.

The deal brokered by Space Florida, the state’s aerospace finance and development agency, promises as many as 50 jobs with an average salary of $80,000 as well as 300 jobs during construction.

It marks the first major commercial foray into what’s now called the Launch and Landing Facility, which is managed by Space Florida under a 30-year property agreement with NASA. Space Florida had been touting the announcement as Project Comet with a mystery tenant. read more