New report shows how Tampa Bay area stacks up against other communities in the US
TAMPA, Fla. - Quality of life, work balance, transit and housing affordability in Tampa Bay were among the aspects of life stacked up against similar cities around the country in a State of the Region report Friday.
Tampa Bay Partnership worked with the University of South Florida and other partners to contribute to the 2023 Regional Competitiveness Summary Report that was presented to leaders at an event at USF.
The report found Tampa Bay is moving the needle in the right direction overall. However, when it comes to the workforce, there’s room for improvement starting with the area’s youngest residents.
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"Kindergarten through third grade is where we teach students to read and then third grade and beyond is when you read to learn. So, it's very difficult to get caught up if you're not on par at that time," said Bemetra Simmons, the president and CEO of Tampa Bay Partnership. "We're seeing downward trends in our kindergarten readiness numbers and also in our third grade reading levels."
There were some improvements in other aspects of education, the report found.
"We’re seeing really good improvements in our high school graduation rates, both for traditional students and also economically disadvantaged students," said Simmons. "It's going to matter, Right? Who works in our workforce, what types of opportunities are available, how prepared that workforce is. It matters to all of us."
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She said progress in those areas will make for better educational outcomes which feeds into the overall prosperity boost for the region.
"One of the things that I'm working really hard on since I've been in the role is that is getting up, wanting to get comfortable with the idea that the data is the first step," said Simmons. "The second step is for us to get together and activate and convene so that we can come up with ideas, collaborate to move the needle."
The report also found the region is attracting new residents, some of them for remote work.
"Most of the professional jobs that we've been tracking on the professional job platforms like LinkedIn and indeed we saw that, this shocked us, like about 60 to 90 percent of all jobs being posted on these platforms, but advertised as remote and across the board in metros," said Balaji Padmanabhan, business professor at the University of South Florida Muma College of Business.
Padmanabhan said remote work gives some opportunities for Tampa Bay.
"So if you have a local employer hiring a local person for the demo job, that's a good thing. That gives them a little more quality of life. It saves transit money and all that," said Padmanabhan. "But if we have a local person getting an out-of-state job, that's great for the economy we spend and that's another way we benefit. The mixed bag comes if we have a local company hiring an out-of-state worker, does that help our region? And what we actually see is that in some cases it does."
So leaders said the data gives a benchmark, and the next step is working towards it.
"I know we all live in different cities, and we live in different counties. But what I wanted everybody to think about, if it was if it were a sports team, that whatever city, whatever county you live in, that's the position you play with the team. You're on this team, Tampa Bay, and if we all work together, good things can happen for us," said Simmons.