Florida – The Stalwart of the US Economy
Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
Florida, one of the first and worst hit states by the Great Recession in 2007, started out with major job losses during at the beginning of April 2007. This was several months ahead of any other state. When the nation began to recover around June 2009, Florida was slow to reap the benefits and lagged behind the rest of the country’s growing economy for several years. However, as of 2014, Florida’s economy is now leading the nation in terms job growth and overall recovery, despite its tattered past.
Florida, one of the first and worst hit states by the Great Recession in 2007, started out with major job losses during at the beginning of April 2007. This was several months ahead of any other state. When the nation began to recover around June 2009, Florida was slow to reap the benefits and lagged behind the rest of the country’s growing economy for several years. However, as of 2014, Florida’s economy is now leading the nation in terms job growth and overall recovery, despite its tattered past.
America still has not recovered from the recession and when you begin to look at the effects of Obamacare, high taxes, job destroying regulations and how this has kept millions of citizens on food stamps, the recession seems still in effect.
In fact, Florida has now become a front-runner and boon to the nation with its declining unemployment rates, high payroll job creation and overall economic health. The most stressful period for South Florida, by far, was between 2009 and 2010, when the economy was contracting while the nation was in a slow recovery that began mid-2009.
Fruits of Perseverance
The situation has now improved so much that in South Florida, employment expects to grow an additional 2.3 percent every year and unemployment to stabilize to an average of 6 percent. The average annual income forecasts to grow by up to 3 percent to about $55,200.
Florida’s economy expects to lead the nation over the next decade. Unemployment rates have dropped after peaking in 2009 and they expect to continue to decline through 2017. The pace of decline will slow as workforce growth picks up. However, it is a little too soon to celebrate as the state’s unemployment rate, which is currently at 6.1 percent, should ideally hit 5.4 percent by the end of 2017.
According to payroll statistics, the sectors that are expected to have the highest average job growth during 2014-2017 are in construction, professional and business services, trade, transportation and utilities, education & health services and of course, leisure & hospitality.
According to the Tax Foundation of America, Florida’s tax burden has always ranked among the nations’ lowest since the 1970s. The fact that Florida does not have a personal income tax has also helped the plight of the average American living in the state. However, sales tax and property tax exist.
Credit no state income tax as the reason why so many wealthy people live there. Derek Jeter built a mansion here despite spending a lot of time in NYC. Tiger Woods departed California in the late 90s for Florida, the move reported to have saved him $100 million in taxes since then. There has been a steady decline in millionaires in New York and other Northeastern states as they leave for Florida despite risks like hurricanes, humidity, alligators, snakes, and so on. No state income tax beats all that!
More from the Sunshine State in 2014
The counties of Palm Beach and Miami-Dade had the 12th largest economy last year, out of 381 metro-area localities surveyed by reputed economic bureaus. The value of goods and services produced in these counties grew to $281 billion, last year alone!
Foreign trade has further boosted the local economy, with innovations from the sunshine state contributing to the nation’s economy. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, trade in South Florida alone grew at almost 0.4 percent annually. Further statistics by the Bureau of Economic Analysis have revealed that this growth was second only to the improvements of the financial, insurance, and real estate sectors.
On top of this, the former outstanding governor of Florida―Jeb Bush―could be the next American President.
