Metro Orlando’s median pay ranks last among the nation’s 50 biggest metropolitan areas, and it has the largest share of jobs — 37 percent — paying less than $25,000 a year, according to federal data analyzed by the Orlando Sentinel.
Central Florida also has the smallest share of jobs paying more than $50,000. And since 2002, median pay in the region, adjusted for inflation, has fallen by $1,761 — to $29,450 — as the number of middle-class and upper middle-class jobs tumbled because of the Great Recession.
According to the analysis, low median pay isn’t a new phenomenon: In 2002 and 2007, before the recession hit, Orlando ranked 49th (ahead of San Antonio, Texas) among the top 50 metro areas.
The analysis compared Orlando with Florida’s big metro areas, to cities of similar size across the country and to communities often mentioned as peers — places like Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; or Las Vegas. Central Florida’s numbers lagged in almost every case.
Among the 50 largest cities, Metro Orlando ranks last in jobs paying $50,000 to $75,000 — and last in jobs paying $75,000 or more. It finishes 39th in jobs paying $25,000 to $50,000.
Middle-income jobs, in particular, were decimated by the recession after expanding earlier in the decade. Since 2007, the region has lost more than 155,000 jobs that paid between $25,000 and $75,000, the analysis found.
In addition to Metro Orlando, which ranked at the bottom (50/50), other Florida cities near the bottom in terms of good paying jobs are: Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall (48/50); Ft. Lauderdale-Pompano Beach -Deerfield Beach (46/50) and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (45/50).
Read the whole story here.
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