High-tech Harris Corp. of Melbourne to add 425 jobs by mid-2008: Defense contracts are fueling the company's hiring growth in Palm Bay and Melbourne
Feb 07, 2008 (The Orlando Sentinel - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- -- Melbourne-based Harris Corp. plans to add more than 425 new jobs by mid-2008, the latest hiring boom in a substantial expansion of its Brevard County work force, the company said Wednesday.
With annual pay ranging from $55,000 to more than $66,000, the high-tech communications giant expects to boost its Brevard work force by at least 6 percent through midyear, officials said.
More hiring is planned later in 2008, although specifics were not available.
Since early 2007, the company has generated more than 700 new jobs in Melbourne and Palm Bay. Though it has filled some positions vacated by retirements, Harris' work force grew at a net pace of nearly 10 percent.
Wartime defense contracts have prompted much of its hiring, though nondefense work has been almost equally important, officials said.
"We've seen across-the-board growth," spokesman Jim Burke said. "And the local hiring numbers do not include additional hiring we are doing throughout the rest of the U.S. and internationally."
The largest high-tech company based in Central Florida currently employs about 7,200 in government communications, electronics, program management and other technology operations. That represents nearly half of its worldwide employment.
Harris has grown locally without the enticement of tax breaks or other government incentives, according to Burke.
Its average annual salaries are 50 percent to 90 percent higher than the Central Florida average of $37,000 a year.
The company continues to bring aboard a variety of technical talent, ranging from recent college graduates to veteran engineers, Burke said.
It produces some key military systems now used in Iraq and Afghanistan, including high-speed command communications systems and fighter jet cockpit electronics.
Its nonmilitary work includes production of wireless hand-held computers for the U.S. Census Bureau and advanced air-traffic control communications for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Harris recently posted fourth-quarter sales of $1.3 billion, a 30 percent jump from the year-earlier quarter. Profit rose 26 percent to $114 million, beating the average Wall Street analyst estimate.
The company's expansion comes at a critical time for the region as the economy tries to weather the effect of the real estate slump and mortgage-credit crisis, said Sean Snaith, an economist with the University of Central Florida.
"Harris has tapped into areas that have been unscathed by the housing demise thus far," he said. "There continues to be sustained demand and job creation in the military sector, which is not going away any time soon, no matter who comes into the White House."
The higher paying jobs at Harris and other high-tech employers will be key to sustaining the local economy by supporting consumer spending during the slowdown, Snaith said.
"Their salaries are a far cry from the other industries tied to tourism, which generally have lower pay," he said. "High-tech provides the types of jobs we need to diversify the economy and increase the average wage in this region."
Overall, defense and high-tech employment across mid-Florida has grown 8 percent to 223,200 jobs since 2005, according to a recent study for Enterprise Florida by the University of West Florida's Haas Center.
Richard Burnett can be reached at rburnett@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5256.
With annual pay ranging from $55,000 to more than $66,000, the high-tech communications giant expects to boost its Brevard work force by at least 6 percent through midyear, officials said.
More hiring is planned later in 2008, although specifics were not available.
Since early 2007, the company has generated more than 700 new jobs in Melbourne and Palm Bay. Though it has filled some positions vacated by retirements, Harris' work force grew at a net pace of nearly 10 percent.
Wartime defense contracts have prompted much of its hiring, though nondefense work has been almost equally important, officials said.
"We've seen across-the-board growth," spokesman Jim Burke said. "And the local hiring numbers do not include additional hiring we are doing throughout the rest of the U.S. and internationally."
The largest high-tech company based in Central Florida currently employs about 7,200 in government communications, electronics, program management and other technology operations. That represents nearly half of its worldwide employment.
Harris has grown locally without the enticement of tax breaks or other government incentives, according to Burke.
Its average annual salaries are 50 percent to 90 percent higher than the Central Florida average of $37,000 a year.
The company continues to bring aboard a variety of technical talent, ranging from recent college graduates to veteran engineers, Burke said.
It produces some key military systems now used in Iraq and Afghanistan, including high-speed command communications systems and fighter jet cockpit electronics.
Its nonmilitary work includes production of wireless hand-held computers for the U.S. Census Bureau and advanced air-traffic control communications for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Harris recently posted fourth-quarter sales of $1.3 billion, a 30 percent jump from the year-earlier quarter. Profit rose 26 percent to $114 million, beating the average Wall Street analyst estimate.
The company's expansion comes at a critical time for the region as the economy tries to weather the effect of the real estate slump and mortgage-credit crisis, said Sean Snaith, an economist with the University of Central Florida.
"Harris has tapped into areas that have been unscathed by the housing demise thus far," he said. "There continues to be sustained demand and job creation in the military sector, which is not going away any time soon, no matter who comes into the White House."
The higher paying jobs at Harris and other high-tech employers will be key to sustaining the local economy by supporting consumer spending during the slowdown, Snaith said.
"Their salaries are a far cry from the other industries tied to tourism, which generally have lower pay," he said. "High-tech provides the types of jobs we need to diversify the economy and increase the average wage in this region."
Overall, defense and high-tech employment across mid-Florida has grown 8 percent to 223,200 jobs since 2005, according to a recent study for Enterprise Florida by the University of West Florida's Haas Center.
Richard Burnett can be reached at rburnett@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5256.
Labels: Florida, Harris Corp, hiring, Melbourne
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