Central Florida theme parks continue to announce major expansion projects. Industry representatives are concerned about being able to staff the thousands of new positions created by the expansions over the next few years. One component of the sector not showing these gains is gaming. Financial Most bankers throughout the District report that overall loan demand is strong. Consumer loan demand has increased slightly, with some weakness reported in automobile financing which parallels the weaker auto sales.
Commercial demand continues unabated at healthy levels.
Mortgage lending, while below last year's levels, is robust. With loan quality generally holding steady, few bankers are reporting stricter standards. Wages and Prices Despite continuing reports of labor shortages, evidence of increasing prices or wage gains is thinly scattered. Skilled and unskilled labor markets are described as very tight in areas with a high proportion of high-tech employment. Larger than average wage gains have been noted for information technology positions.