Southwest Florida Economy Outpaces Rest of State

If you think the economic recovery is slow in Bradenton-Sarasota, just check out the rest of the Sunshine State. Things could be worse. Much worse.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports that the Economicast – which calculates economic statistics to index performance by region – showed Sarasota-Bradenton revving twice as fast as the state pace. Charlotte was growing three times faster than the state as a whole

The statewide improvements were tied to an accelerating decline in new unemployment claims, a 38 percent jump in housing starts, a mild increase in median housing prices and a jump in new construction, tied mainly to the building of apartments, Fishkind Associates reported.