Gov. Rick Scott talks job growth at Naples manufacturing company

NAPLES, Fla. – Governor Rick Scott paid a visit to Naples on Friday to tour a growing manufacturing company and to talk about the job market across the state. The unemployment rate is at 5.4%–the lowest it’s been in seven years.

More than 917,000 jobs have opened up in Florida in nearly five years. Naples is ranked the third in the state for job growth.

“As you know, we are here to build jobs,” Governor Scott said at a press conference.

There was a round of applause inside the Haynes Corporation in Naples as the governor announced the latest job numbers. He says for the month of July, nearly 17,000 more jobs have been added to the state.

“What we’re seeing is, we’re seeing more and more jobs coming to the state, more and more manufacturing jobs,” Gov. Scott said.

However, they may be a roadblock ahead. The state may be running out of money that brings those jobs in. Florida only has about $9 million left in the budget for incentives that bring companies like Haynes Corporation in; companies that Florida is wanting to see more of.

The state says the money will likely be gone in weeks.

“We’ve got to have manufacturing, we’ve got to have agriculture, we’ve got to have construction, we’ve got to have tourism,” Mayor John Sorey said.

The Haynes Corporation, which makes diesel fuel injection systems has moved their operation around the country but decided to end up in Collier County. Their Naples facility has doubled in size in the last three years.

“The fact that they’ve gone from about 42 employees to about 90 employees in the last three years–always like the stories about how people are growing,” Gov. Scott said.

The governor originally asked lawmakers for $85 million to help lure new industries to Florida. However, legislators approved half that amount saying the program has not spent all of the money it’s gotten in recent years.