by NorthEscambia.com |
“While Gov. Rick Scott travels the state touting job growth and an unemployment rate below the national average, a report released last week by state analysts points to some continuing economic problems such as a lack of income growth and persistent home foreclosures.
Florida had a 1.5 percent decline in personal income during the first quarter of 2013, when compared to the last quarter of 2012. The report, posted online by the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research, said housing is “generally improving” but that Florida had the highest foreclosure rate in the country in July 2013.
Also, the report noted that while the state’s unemployment rate dropped from 9.4 percent in December 2011 to 7.1 percent in July 2013, a large part of that drop — 47.8 percent — stemmed from people dropping out of the labor force or delaying entry to the labor force.”