Winners and Losers

Reviewing the revenues of the largest 500 companies on the Gulf Coast (See Gulf Coast 500 insert), a few themes emerged. Unsurprisingly, the winners and losers among companies headquartered on Florida's Gulf Coast represent larger trends impacting the economy of an entire nation. Below are a few trends we noted in the list.

1.) Hiring is slow.
Companies are hesitant to add full-time staff before demand rises. In the meantime, however, those firms are bringing on part-time help to fill gaps. All six of the staffing firms on our list — including KForce, A-1 Contract, and Veredus Corp. — saw revenues increase in 2010. KForce's 9% gain pushed the company's revenues to the verge of $1 billion in business for the year.

Dan Rodriguez, CEO at IT staffing company Veredus (No. 141 with $43 million in 2010 revenues), is hesitant to celebrate his industry's success. He recognizes that many capable employees are struggling to find work. Still, companies' reluctance to hire full-time staff has been a boon to companies like Veredus, which expects to generate $60 million in revenues in 2011.