Econ doctor says area is healthy

Gary Jackson, director of the Regional Economic Research Institute at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, is a cheery guy.

And that's not only because he's retiring soon.

Jackson's monthly snapshot on the regional economy also shows positive momentum from Sarasota to Naples in just about every category. The data include:

Seasonally adjusted regional taxable sales for November 2014 were up 9% over November 2013.

Seasonally adjusted December 2014 total tourist tax revenues for the coastal counties increased by 21% over December 2013.

Passenger activity for the three Southwest Florida airports grew by 4% from December 2013 to December 2014.

Existing Lee County single-family home sales for January were up 14% over January 2014 and median home prices increased by 6% to $190,000.

The median price of a home in Collier County increased 15% from January 2014 to this past January, to $375,000.

Charlotte County's existing single-family housing sales increased 12% and the median price of a home increased by 22% from January 2014 to this past January, to $165,075.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the five-county region declined to 5.5% in December 2014 from 5.7% in November.