They’re not small businesses and they’re not part of the top tiers of the Fortune 500. But “middle-market” firms are growing, according to a new study.
Funded in part by GE Capital, the study touts the middle-market niche as an overlooked segment of the economy. The authors say Florida has about 7,200 middle-market firms — defined as generating revenues between $10 million and $1 billion — that employ about 2.4 million people.
And while Florida’s largest corporations have cut about 100,000 jobs in the state, according to the study, middle-market firms have added more than 198,000.
Still, Florida’s middle-market firms aren’t doing as well as the national average. Revenue growth in the Sunshine State’s middle-tier of companies trailing the national average by about 15 percent.
DOUGLAS HANKS