Tallahassee, the capital city of the fourth largest state in the United States, enjoys a relatively stable economy and a comparatively low unemployment rate, below both the Florida and national unemployment rate. Tallahassee businesses have access to a labor force in which more than 41% of working adults hold college degrees. Inc. magazine has ranked Tallahassee among the "Best Small Metro Areas to start and grow a business." The fastest growing business sectors are telecommunications, computer hardware vendors, software developers, and trade associations.

Florida's economy is going to get worse before it gets better, and lawmakers will have to deal with a $2.3 billion shortfall to balance the $66 billion budget, economists told lawmakers in January. The weak economy is hurting sales tax revenues, leading to government cutbacks that have hurt Leon County in particular. Along with stagnant job growth, housing starts locally are expected to remain depressed through 2009.

November unemployment figures, the latest available, show Tallahassee and Florida continuing to lose jobs at a steady rate. One of the bright spots, however, is Florida's expanding health sector, says a University of Central Florida economist. Tallahassee's health care industry is following a similar track. Health is the only sector that's growing in Tallahassee’s economy, according to Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida.