Dear Fellow Floridians:
As we look forward to Thanksgiving and the holiday season, we have a lot to be thankful for – and brag about – here in the Sunshine State. Florida is truly a great place to grow a business, chart a career, and a raise a family.
Florida's statewide unemployment rate is now below seven percent at 6.7 percent in October 2013, and this is our eighth month below the national average.
Over the last two months, the state has added more than 67,000 private sector jobs. This is great news for Florida families.
Our total job creation since December 2010 is now at 440,900, but we have more work to do. We don’t just want a state where job creation reaches a certain number, or unemployment falls to a certain
number. We want to create an opportunity economy. We want a state with dynamic, growing industries that will create jobs and careers for generations to come.
Thanks to you, IT’S WORKING in Florida. Please let your friends and family know about Florida’s great turnaround story. Here are some points to share:
More Jobs Being Created
Florida experienced positive annual job growth for 39 consecutive months.
Florida has created 440,900 new private sector jobs since December 2010
Florida is expected to create more than 1 million new jobs by 2018, according to the Florida Economic Estimating Conference.
Home Sales Robust
Home sales remain robust as the backlog of existing homes on the market is down by 36 percent from November 2011 (Florida Realtors).
Florida median home prices were up 16.6 percent over the year in October 2013.
Economic Growth Trends Up Across State
A recent U.S. Census Survey reported that Florida experienced an influx of people moving into the state. Florida also led the nation in migrations from Puerto Rico.
Florida is running a trade surplus of over $18 billion - with $90.4 billion in exports and $71.8 billion in imports in 2012, up from $86.8 billion in exports in 2011 and $62.4 billion in imports in 2011.
In addition to Florida’s turnaround story, we have much more to be thankful for. We announced earlier this week that Florida’s crime volume is down 5.2 percent, compared to the first six months last year. Our communities are on a path to a 43-year crime low, and I thank Florida’s law enforcement community for their hard work and dedication to keeping Florida families.
While other states are beginning to shiver and shovel snow, Florida is moving toward our third consecutive year of record tourism growth with a 1.7-percent increase in visitors during July through September 2013, over the same period last year.
In addition to enjoying our warm weather, visitors also come to enjoy our beautiful beaches and parks. Florida State Parks are the nation’s only three-time winner of the National Gold Medal Award for Excellence and experienced a record 25.5 million visitors last year. Every 85 visitors to our state
support one Florida job, and a growing tourism industry means more jobs for Florida families.
We can be thankful for Florida’s economic turnaround, job creation, low crime, and growing tourism, and we won’t stop until we create an opportunity economy here in the Sunshine State. To help create future opportunities for Florida families, I am committed to cutting $500 million in taxes and fees for Florida families and job creators.
This legislative session, we’re fighting to create even more jobs and opportunities for Florida families.
Ann and I wish you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to counting our blessings and bragging about Florida – and our three grandsons, Auguste, Sebastian, and Quinton.
Thanks to you, IT’S WORKING in Florida.
I am grateful for all you are doing to make the Sunshine State the best place to live, work and raise a family.
Sincerely,
Governor Scot