Employment Projections Spike with Fidelity

Mathis, Karen Brune, The Florida Times Union

Byline: Karen Brune Mathis, Times-Union senior business writer

Thanks in large part to plans by Fidelity National Financial Inc. to move its headquarters to town, projected employment growth in Jacksonville grew to an annual rate of 13,440 jobs for the first four months of the year.

That's faster than the four-month pace of 2002, and 72 percent higher than the entire 2002 rate of 7,830.

Fidelity announced it would add 750 jobs in Jacksonville as it relocates its corporate offices this year from Santa Barbara, Calif., and continues to grow the mortgage processing operation on Riverside Avenue it acquired as it bought Alltel Information Services.

Because of Fidelity and other companies that earlier announced large hiring plans, economic development executive Jerry Mallot is changing his forecast for the metro area.

"It is turning out to be pretty good, which tells me we will expand beyond the 10,000 jobs that I would have seen as a goal. I see where it would go beyond that," said Mallot, executive vice president of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Mallot noted that Fidelity is one of several companies that …

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Publication information: Article title: Employment Projections Spike with Fidelity. Contributors: Mathis, Karen Brune - Author. Newspaper title: The Florida Times Union. Publication date: May 5, 2003. Page number: Not available. © 2007 The Florida Times-Union. COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group.

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