The news about Florida’s economy is good and seemingly only gets better with time. Just last week, the state’s own forecast, which is the official forecast used by legislators, was raised for this year and next. At the same time, we found out from the James Madison Institute, that Florida added $16 billion in earned income last year from net migration to the state, that's the best in the country for the sixth straight year. Additionally, Florida is now projected to pass Texas in total net migration for the first time on record in 2020. This is all good, but the good news keeps coming.
Florida currently has a record low unemployment rate of 3.1%. That’s now literally half of Florida historical average unemployment rate of 6.2%. It’s hard to put to words how impressive that really is, but the story is still improving. According to the Florida Chamber Foundation, Florida currently has 284,000 job openings with 323,000 people looking for employment statewide. Clearly, not everyone who’s looking will be a match for the openings, but there’s the potential to continue to make significant progress with unemployment based on current openings. Plus, there are only 39,000 more people out of work in Florida than job opportunities. With a current population of around 22 million, you get the idea. What’s more, is that the average economic forecast for Florida across all analyst forecasting dropped the likelihood of a recession over the next year to 21% from 38% last year.
Florida’s economic growth rate is currently pegged at 2.8% for this year, which is good, especially given how strong our economy already is. However, given that we’ve continually outperformed forecasts and estimates, it might prove to be on the low end once again. Florida’s economy has never been stronger. The opportunity for Floridians has never been greater and wages have never been higher. It appears as though it’s only going to continue to get better from here.
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