Florida exceeds 25,000 manufacturers in state, TaxWatch report finds

Florida exceeded 25,000 manufacturers in the state for the first time. Image via AP.

Florida is now a formal “manufacturing state,” at least according to Florida TaxWatch and FloridaMakes per a new report detailing manufacturing growth in the Sunshine State.

TaxWatch, a Florida government watchdog and taxpayer advocacy group, and FloridaMakes, a manufacturing support organization, noted that there are now more than 25,000 manufacturers that are based in the state for the first time. The figure was established in the “MakeMore Manufacturing Summit” report issued this month.

“Florida’s economic prosperity hinges on the collaborative efforts of our manufacturing stakeholders,” said FloridaMakes CEO Kevin Carr. “This MakeMore Manufacturing Report underscores our commitment to advancing the state’s manufacturing economy through strategic partnerships and innovation.”

The report, compiled in late 2023, concluded that manufacturers supported 426,000 high-wage jobs in Florida in 2022. That accounts for about 4.4% of all jobs in Florida. The average annual salary for manufacturing workers in the Sunshine State came in at $74,575 in 2022.

While Florida ranked 12th in the United States for manufacturing gross domestic product, the report details areas that still need improvement.

Florida ranked 31st for productivity. That means there was an average of $178,367 in economic output per employee. That comes out to about $40,000 less than the national average of $218,271 in revenue per employee.

Still, the growth in manufacturing jobs in the past decade was impressive. Florida saw manufacturing sector jobs jump from 326,300 in 2013 to 422,800 in 2023. That’s an increase of about 9,600 new jobs every year.

The report projected that in order for Florida to crack the top five states for manufacturing jobs by 2030, there would have to be an increase to about 20,000 new manufacturing jobs per year.

TaxWatch published a suggested list of proposed measures to increase manufacturing jobs annually in Florida including:

— Step up marketing and messaging efforts among manufacturers.

— Utilize more nontraditional methods of building a robust and sustainable talent pipeline, such as apprenticeships, internships, and “boot camps.”

— Get local manufacturing companies involved in schools.

— Develop resilient and sustainable supply chains that are interactive and dynamic with networks of people, processes and technologies.

— Accelerate the adoption and implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies.

— Make effective use of the Florida Legislature Manufacturing & Supply Chain Caucus.