Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida workers have seen an increase in their wages in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed the average salary in the state closer to the national average, a new report assembled by state economists shows.
Florida — which relies heavily on the tourism and hospitality industries — has routinely seen a noticeable gap between the average annual wage and the national average. For many years, the average worker in the state earned about 87% of the national average.
But the Office of Economic and Demographic Research reported this past week that the gap has shrunk in the past two years. Final data from 2022 showed Florida wages are now 91.1% of the national average, the highest they have been in the past two decades, according to the latest Florida economic overview put out by EDR.
“Based on conference projections of average annual wage growth of 3.3% or above each year — following 4.2% in the current year and greater than projected inflation in all years — the higher wages are likely here to stay,” the EDR report states.
Wages have increased after the pandemic while unemployment in the state has dropped. The report notes that unemployment dropped to an average of 2.7% over the 2022-23 fiscal year, close to the lowest level recorded “in modern times.” Unemployment fell to 2.4% in the first half of 2006.
The December unemployment rate in the state was 3%, and economists project it will begin to drift back up to as high as 4.3% in the 2026-27 fiscal year.
The numbers are coming out amid a contentious debate about Florida’s labor market in the state Legislature. Bills are moving that would remove current restrictions on how long and when teenagers can work and allow some teenagers to work on residential construction projects.
State economists also looked at data connected to Florida’s economy, including gross domestic product growth, personal income changes, population growth and continued growth in tourism.
EDR states that because of continued wage growth, personal income will rise 6.3% in the current fiscal year and 6.4% in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
State economists also looked at the state’s housing market and reported a drop in single-home sales in 2023 while interest rates were raised.
But that has not translated into a drop in overall prices. EDR reported that the median price of homes in Florida has exceeded the national average for nearly every month since December 2021. Economists note that the state’s median price of $420,000 is a record high.
5 comments
Dont Say FLA
January 29, 2024 at 8:01 am
Productivity’s in the toilet, however. Even the Governor quiet quit.
PeterH
January 29, 2024 at 10:15 am
Fun Fact:
Regardless of the notable wage increases in Biden’s booming economy……the decline in Florida living standards continues unabated. 33% of Florida’s residents survive on income below the Nation’s poverty level.
The fact remains that here in the FREEDUMB STATE OF FLORIDA there are very few Hospitality sector employees or managers who can afford a median home price of $420,000 ……prices that do not include home insurance or outrageous property taxes! Florida still has the highest inflation in the USA. Homelessness is on the increase!
Florida suffers from an economy devoted to restaurants, cruise ships and senior care …… and struggles on so many future employment fronts including but not limited to global warming’s impact of Florida’s uncertain future! Uncertainty is not a business enticement!
Twenty years of failed Republican leadership in Florida culminating in DeSantis’s radical right wing social engineering attacks on women’s health options, classroom free speech and draconian business attack models have set the stage for this State’s future to look like Alabama or Mississippi.
If you want to witness the business decline first hand get out of you car and walk the downtown are of Hollywood Florida or Lincoln Road in South Beach and count how many retail stores are shuttered in the height of tourist season. Walk the downtown Miami business district and parks during a dry spell and the pungent smell of urine is everywhere.
Why would Republicans make an effort to turn this around? The Florida government has ample money in its coffers to fly Texas’s undocumented to Martha’s Vineyard and encourage political stunts like sending our National Guard to Texas’s border with Mexico.
Try to imagine how many decades it will take to undo this damage!
Thugs running Floriduh
January 29, 2024 at 11:44 am
Absolutely Peter. And all the Florida Republican MAGA delegation will do is GASLIGHT and BLAME others. They have been in charge of this state since criminal Scott took money from the federal government and they elected him to the Senate. Shame on the voters for allowing these thugs to take over our state.
Sergio Varuna
January 30, 2024 at 9:16 pm
I am not sure which of you commenters is the bigger idiot, but I’m confident the you don’t have 100 IQ points combined. Best you head to a safe space with coloring books and crayons while the adults are speaking.
Andrew Finn
February 5, 2024 at 1:23 pm
Yes, Florida wages are the highest they have been in the last 20 years — right along with the cost of living in Florida being the highest it has been in the last 20 years. Better raise those wages even higher, so businesses can raise their prices even higher to cover their costs !!!!!!
Comments are closed.