How tough is the job market in Ft. Myers/Cape Coral?

January 2, 2012 9:29 AM

How tough is the job market in Ft.Myers/Cape Coral, FL?

My husband and I will be relocating to Ft.Myers/Cape Coral in September, and he will be job hunting. He currently works in manufacturing (windmills for GE, for what its worth) and would like to find something in the same or a similar field. How impossible will this be? Does anyone who lives in the area and/or has looked for a job there have any insight or advice for us? I know the unemployment situation is rough all over, so I'm looking for information specific to this city/industry. Thanks in advance!

posted by pupperduck to Work & Money (2 answers total)

Best answer: I don't live there anymore, but I did briefly about 4 years ago. I worked for one of a handful of technology companies (now defunct, but there are remnants around). There aren't manufacturing plants there that I'm aware of, but the area is really large. I guess I don't have any direct advice, but unless you are far north of the river (and maybe even then) I would suggest expanding the search south to include the areas around Naples. A friend of mine has a great job in civil engineering there, and I understand there are several stable firms in that field in the area.

When I left, the area was sliding further and further into a deep speculation-driven real estate recession/depression complete with empty high rise buildings on the river front and foreclosure sales creeping into every subdivision. Good luck.
posted by feloniousmonk at 3:21 PM on January 2, 2012

Response by poster: Thank you, feloniousmonk. Expanding the search south is good advice, especially if the hunt is a rough as I fear it may be.
posted by pupperduck at 6:34 PM on January 3, 2012