Florida’s Economy Hits ‘Historic’ $1-Trillion Milestone
Dr. Jerry Parrish, Florida Chamber Foundation chief economist, who forecasted earlier this year that Florida would reach the new $1-trillion economy threshold sometime in 2018, says the milestone was achieved last week. He notes that Florida is adding $2.74 billion each day to the state’s GDP.
TALLAHASSEE, FL—A report by the Florida Chamber Foundation says that the Florida state economy has topped the $1-trillion milestone for the first time, making the Sunshine State the 18th largest economy in the world.
The Florida Chamber Foundation notes that the state’s economy is now larger than such nations as Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Argentina.
Dr. Jerry Parrish, Florida Chamber Foundation chief economist, who forecasted earlier this year that Florida would reach the new $1-trillion economy threshold sometime in 2018, says the milestone was achieved last week. He notes that Florida is adding $2.74 billion each day to the state’s GDP.
“Becoming a $1-trillion economy means Florida is continuing to grow and create jobs, keeping unemployment lower than the national average, and creating economic opportunity,” Dr. Parrish says. “Thanks to the focus of Florida’s business community and strong leadership from the governor, cabinet and legislature, Florida continues to move in the right direction.”
Gov. Rick Scott, who has been touting Florida’s job growth numbers, says, “This is an historic moment for Florida reaching a record $1 trillion in GDP. By working every day to create private-sector jobs, we’ve been able to increase Florida’s GDP by more than $270 billion—37%—since 2010.”
He adds that in the past seven-and-a-half years, there have been more than 1.5 million private sector jobs created and Florida’s unemployment is currently at 3.8%.
Florida has created 180,200 jobs over the past year, according to TheFloridaScorecard.org and Florida’s tourism industry is booming, setting a new record for visitations in the first quarter.
However, several troubling data points indicate more can be done to improve the state’s economy and has prompted the Florida Chamber to launch the Florida Chamber 2030 research initiative.
“Florida 2030 allows communities to see how they are impacted by challenges and opportunities and create their own blueprints for how to move forward,” says Tony Carvajal, EVP of the Florida Chamber Foundation. “This growth in our economy is good news and reminds us of the positive impact that business, community, philanthropic and elected leaders can have on Florida when we work together toward a common goal of securing Florida’s future.”
The chamber notes that while many achievement gaps are closing, 43% of third graders do not read at or above grade level in Florida. In addition, while one in 14 jobs in the nation are created in Florida, the state’s 14.8% poverty rate includes 21.3% of children under the age of 18.