Florida Economic Outlook: December 2009

Fear Not, the Sun Will Eventually Shine Again in Florida Florida’s economic recovery looks like it will take a little longer to build momentum than much of the rest of the country. The Sunshine State is much more dependent on the continued inflow of new residents from other parts of the country to drive economic growth, and migration trends turned exceptionally negative during this recession. … Fear Not, the Sun Will Eventually Shine Again in Florida Florida’s economic recovery looks like it will take a little longer to build momentum than much of the rest of the country. The Sunshine State is much more dependent on the continued inflow of new residents from other parts of the country to drive economic growth, and migration trends turned exceptionally negative during this recession. Florida saw its first domestic net out-migration since the immediate aftermath of World War II during 2008 and 2009, with residents increasingly relocating to other Sunbelt states, such as Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Texas. Population still increased, however, with gains from international immigration and a small natural increase offsetting the net loss of state-to-state migration. The primary reasons Florida is losing residents to other states is the dramatic increase in housing costs, including the price of insurance and property taxes, as well as the state’s greatly diminished employment prospects. Nonfarm employment declined 9.1 percent over the past two and a half years, producing a net loss of more than 736,000 jobs. The unemployment rate has shot up more than 8.0 percentage points from its pre-recession lows, hitting a modern era high of 11.5 percent in November. Thank you for your interest in Wells Fargo’s Economic Commentary by Email. You are receiving this message because you have requested Economic Commentary information and updates sent via email. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please click on the following link to access the Economic Commentary by Email registration page: http://www.wachovia.com/economicsemail.