The Miami Herald reports that the jobs incentives deals that Gov. Rick Scott has crafted to lure businesses to the Space Coast have been a mixed bag. On the plus side, Brevard County’s unemployment rate, which peaked after the end of NASA’s space shuttle program, has been reduced from more than 11 percent to 7 percent. Deals with large companies such as Boeing and Embraer promise to eventually add thousands of additional jobs in the area.
On the other hand, a $7 million incentives deal with start-up company Rocket Crafters appears to have augered in. And even positive achievements appear to rely heavily on federal contracts, not necessarily on private sector growth, limiting the ability of the area to diversify its economy away from government spending.
