The Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce held its annual economic forecast on Thursday inside the Dunlap Champions Club at Doak Campbell Stadium.
According to the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce & the Florida Scorecard, Leon County will need about 15,000 more jobs by 2030 because of the area's growing population.
"We must as a community really start focusing and continuing to work together to impact those data points. We are doing that, and for that, I want to thank all the partners in the room that are doing that because we are going to stay focused," said President and CEO Sue Dick.
Dick said to attract employers to the area, Leon County needs an educated workforce.
The Florida Scorecard, an online tool that measures community progress on a statewide level, shows 1,118 of Leon County third graders not reading at grade level. The graph also shows Leon County's high school graduation rate in the "red" at 85.1% —4% behind the state's 89% rate.
"If someone asked me what's the single most important thing we should all just stop and focus on, it's early learning," Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson said at last year's economic forecast.
Tallahassee's Chambers of Commerce are pushing for more education programs this year to help give employers more qualified candidates.
Dick of Greater Tallahassee told stakeholders on Thursday that building an educated workforce starts at an early age and she’s calling on them to help.
Covering the @TalChamber 2025 Economic Forecast: David E. Altig, Executive VP and Chief Economic Adviser at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta said this year will be like ‘24 “but less.”
— TaMaryn Waters (@TaMarynWaters) February 6, 2025
“Less growth, a little bit less employment, a little less inflation, but still pretty good.”
“We are a 1,200 plus member strong, close to 60,000 employees represented by that," said Dick. "That’s a strong statement, because you all are the employers and the community partners that are really working to grow our community and to grow our region.”
Over the past five years, Leon County has added more than 18,000 new jobs. Greater Tallahassee is partnering with the Office of Economic Vitality (OEV) and the Florida Chamber of Commerce to bring more jobs in the fields of health care, construction, and transportation.