Economy: Florida’s Unemployment Rate Rose to a Record Level of 11.9 Percent in January 2010
In January 2010, Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate climbed to 11.9 percent. The January unemployment figure is the highest since records were first compiled in 1970, tying the unemployment rate from May 1975. On March 10, 2010, the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation reported that the January rate was two tenths of a percentage point higher than the revised December 2009 unemployment rate of 11.7 percent.
The January 2010 unemployment rate was 3.2 percentage points higher than the January 2009 revised rate of 8.7 percent.
Florida’s January unemployment rate was 2.2 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate, which remained at 9.7 percent for the second consecutive month. After many years in which Florida’s unemployment was well below the national rate, the state began to exceed the national unemployment rate in February 2008. The gap between the Florida and national rates grew steadily throughout 2009 and is now at its highest point since February 2008.
The Florida unemployment rate remains the seventh highest in the nation, after Michigan, Nevada, Rhode Island, South Carolina, California, and the District of Columbia.
The counties with the highest unemployment rates were Flagler County (17.1 percent), Hernando County (15.7 percent), Marion County (15.4 percent), Hardee and St. Lucie counties (14.9 percent each), and Citrus County (14.6 percent). The counties with the lowest unemployment rates were Liberty County (7.5 percent), Monroe County (8.2 percent), Leon County (8.5 percent), and Alachua County (8.7 percent).
Politics: New Polls Show Marco Rubio Maintaining a Strong Lead in the Republican Primary for the U.S. Senate
In a poll of 492 likely Republican primary voters sampled between March 5 and March 8, 2010, Public Policy Polling reports that former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio leads Governor Charlie Crist by a margin of 60 percent to 28 percent in their contest for the U.S. Senate nomination.
Mr. Rubio maintains a strong lead of 71 percent to 17 percent among self-described conservatives, and trails by 49 percent to 36 percent among moderates. Of the Republicans surveyed, 65 percent identified themselves as conservative, 31 percent identified themselves as moderates, and four percent identified themselves as liberal.
Some of the polling results may be particularly troubling for the governor. Fifty percent of the Republican respondents said they thought Gov. Crist was “too liberal,” 56 percent disapproved of his job performance, and 56 percent said they would prefer to see Gov. Crist “out of elected office” a year from now. Asked about a hypothetical primary contest in which Gov. Crist would seek reelection to his current post rather than running for the Senate, 49 percent of the Republican respondents said they would vote for the current presumptive Republican candidate, Attorney General Bill McCollum, and 35 percent would vote for Gov. Crist.
Public Policy Polling also surveyed 849 Florida voters from March 5 – 8, 2010 on general election issues. Both potential Republican candidates maintained a lead over the presumptive Democratic Senate nominee, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-17th Congressional District), with Gov. Crist leading by 46 percent to 33 percent and Mr. Rubio leading by 44 percent to 39 percent. The firm also asked about a hypothetical three-way race in which Gov. Crist would run as an Independent. In a three-way matchup, Mr. Rubio would receive 34 percent of the vote, Gov. Crist would receive 27 percent, and Rep. Meek would receive 25 percent.
The margin of error for the Republican-only questions was 4.4 percent, and the margin of error for the general election questions was 3.4 percent.
State Budget: Revenue Estimators Maintain Forecast for Tax Collections
On March 9, 2010, the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference revised its December 2009 forecast of state revenues only slightly, increasing the revenue estimate for the current 2009 –2010 fiscal year by $25.3 million and increasing the revenue estimate for the 2010 – 2011 fiscal year by $56.3 million.
The Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference is made up of legislative and executive branch economists. Their revenue projections determine the amount of money that can be appropriated.
Projected revenues for 2010 – 2011 remain approximately $3.2 billion short of the amount needed for a budget that continues the programs of the 2009 – 2010 budget.
The full House and Senate are expected to take up their respective budget proposals during the week of March 29, 2010.
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マーニー・ジョージ
フロリダ州タラハシー
850.513.3398
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マイケル・P・ハレル
フロリダ州タラハシー
850.513.3373
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ロバート・H・ホセイ
フロリダ州タラハシー
850.513.3382
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ジョナサン・P・キルマン
フロリダ州オルランド
407.244.3256
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トーマス・J・メイダ
フロリダ州タラハシー
850.513.3377
[email protected]
レナード・E・シュルテ
フロリダ州タラハシー
850.513.3380
[email protected]
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