Until Further Notice: Floridians Will Struggle to Get By

A newly released Report on Florida’s labor force says that job losses and the increase in unemployment have entirely wiped away the gains made during the boom period.

The Report, entitled “The State of Working Florida, 2009”, is published by the Florida International University- Center for Labor Research Studies, annually and is released every Labor Day.

According to the Report, Florida job losses amounted to 255,000 during 2008 or 3.2 % of employment, compared with the U.S. which lost 0.4% of employment.

Although the construction industry experienced a spurt of growth between 2003-2006 adding 30 % or 158,000 jobs, this has all been lost and have fallen to just below the 2003 levels, the Report states.

Florida unemployment rate increased dramatically through 2007 and 2008, surpassing the U.S. level in 2008 (6.1 % vs 5.8 %), for the first time since 1994.

The Report notes that Florida’s underemployment stood at a rate of 11.9 % in 2008, a four percent point increase from 2007.

Not surprisingly, African Americans employment news is not good, as they have been unemployed for longer than 26 weeks, at a rate of 30.6% which is nearly 50% greater than for White workers, at 21.3%.  The unemployment rate for Hispanic workers is slightly above that for White workers, at 23% notes the report.

There is discrimination in terms of pay and the wage gap between African American and White workers has been increasing.  In 1979, African Americans earned 81.1% of what White workers earned in Florida and that dropped to 78.6% in 2008.  In 1979, Hispanic workers earned 85% of what White workers earned, compared with 82% in 2008.

See Full ‘State of Working Florida, 2009’ Report Here

Although the Report states that, the monthly data shows that job losses and unemployment appear to be leveling off, it is not encouraging.  The unemployment rate and jobs situation is not likely to improve until at least well into next year, which implies that hundreds of thousands of Florida families will struggle to get by for sometime to come. The Report projects that Florida unemployment rate will remain above 10% through next year.

Furthermore, while recession level job losses for African American and Hispanic workers is not new, the impact of the current recession has only made a bad situation worse.

According to the Report, “Floridians will need the support of government to get through these tough times, and reforms that will produce sustainable growth, not bubble growth, for the future.”