The Florida Turnaround Story In 2010, Florida was in a free fall. Florida lost more than 800,000 jobs, the real estate market had collapsed and tourism was on the decline. State debt had grown by about a billion dollars a year for two decades. And, thousands of government regulations were hurting job creation. Since Governor Scott has been in office, Florida has experienced an incredible economic turnaround and beginning to see the results of pro-growth, pro-business solutions. Florida went from an unemployment rate above 11 percent in 2010 down to 6.2 percent unemployment rate well below the national average. Florida has also now added more than 460,000 private-sector jobs in just about three years. Building a Business Friendly Environment Cutting Taxes and Low Cost of Living: Governor Scott has cut taxes 24 times, including: o Reducing property taxes for homeowners and businesses by $210.5 million in 2011; o Doubling the tax exemption for business income. Already, over 70% of Florida businesses are exempt from paying the business tax; o Removing sales tax on manufacturing equipment; and o Fighting for $500 million in tax cuts for families this year. Reduce Spending: Florida s debt tripled between 1994 and 2010. Four years before Governor Scott took office, state debt ballooned by $5.2 billion. Today, $3.6 billion in state debt has been paid down. Right-Sizing Government: Governor Scott was elected on a promise to shrink the size of state government while making it easier for businesses to succeed. Governor Scott has made it easier for businesses to get licenses and permits: o The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation has reduced professional license processing time by more than 60 percent from an average of six days to two days. o The Department of Environmental Protection has reduced permitting time from 87.7 days in 2010/2011 to 33.7 days in 2013/2014. o The Office of Financial Regulation has reduced the time to approve a license from 22 days in 2011/2012 to five days in 2012/2013. Creating Jobs and Opportunities for Families Unemployment rate went from above 11% in December 2010, down to 6.2% in December, 2013 - well below the national average for 9 straight months. 1
Florida lost more than 800,000 jobs in the four years before Governor Scott took office, to now adding more than 460,000 private-sector jobs in just 3 years. Job growth rate has been positive for 39 consecutive months and annual job growth rate exceeds the national rate and has been equal to or better than the national rate since March 2012. In contrast, Florida is #1 for business: No personal income tax Top 5 business environment (Area Development) Top 5 business tax climate (Tax Foundation, Business Facilities) Top 5 small business & entrepreneur-friendly policies (SBE Council) Businesses Moving and Expanding Under Governor Scott Amazon in Tampa More than 1,000 new jobs, $300M capital investment Hertz in Estero 700 new jobs, $68.75M capital investment Time Warner in Tampa 500 new jobs, $5M capital investment Boeing in Titusville 550 new jobs, $163M capital investment Navy Federal in Pensacola 2,200 new jobs, $207M capital investment Verizon in Lake Mary 750 new jobs, $50M capital investment Northrup Grumman in Brevard 1,000 new jobs Chico s FAS in Ft. Myers 150 jobs, $25 million capital investment Housing Prices Soaring The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in December, 2013 was $172,630, up 11.4 percent from the previous year. Median sale price in December 2009 was just over $140,000. From Dec. 2012 to Dec.2013: o Average Single Family Home sale price increased 3.0%. o Median Days on the Market decreased by 15.3%. o Closed Sales increased by 8.6% o Short sales decreased by 45.1% Personal Income: Florida s per capita personal income rose nearly 2% in 2012 compared to 2011. Migration: Migration has shifted back to a net inflow of people to the state at a rate of about 500 new residents per day. Leader in Tourism and Hospitality: More than 90 million visitors to Florida in 2012, up from 81 million in 2009. Economic impact was $72 billion, up from $61 billion in 2009. Orlando is the most visited destination in America. Global Hub for Business: 2
Record investments in Florida ports. Cargo-related activity at Florida seaports generates more than 550,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributes $66 billion in economic value to the state. Second largest foreign trade zone network in the U.S. 58,000 exporting businesses, 20% of the nation s exporters. Florida-origin exports to the world reached a record level of $66.4 billion in 2012 a 2.3% increase from 2011 levels. In 2012, Florida s total merchandise trade (exports plus imports) totaled $162.2 billion, an increase of 8.7 percent over 2011. Florida also outperformed the U.S. overall, as total U.S. trade grew by 3.6 percent. #1 state for transportation infrastructure. #2 state in aviation, aerospace and space establishments. Record Investments in Education under Governor Scott: Governor Scott led the charge to increase Florida s investment in K-12 education by more than $2 billion in the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 budgets. An historic $480 million was allocated in 2013 specifically for well-deserved teacher pay raises for all classroom teachers. This was the first time in history money has been appropriated specifically for salary increases. Funding for the State University System reached an all-time high of $4.05 billion in 2013-2014. This year Governor recommended in his budget a record investment on $18.84 billion in K-12 education. Florida Leading Nation in Education: Florida jumped from 11 th to 6 th in the nation for educational quality in 2013. Florida s 4 th grade students are second in the world in reading. The National Council on Teacher Quality ranked Florida teachers #1 two years in a row. Florida has the highest graduation rate in the nation for Hispanic students. Florida is #1 for percentage of students taking AP exams. The Sunshine State s AP performance and increases are higher than that of the nation. Governor Scott challenged all state colleges to offer a bachelor s degree for $10,000 or less. The State University System of Florida six-year graduation rate and second-year retention rate are strong compared to the ten largest public university systems. 3
Florida Jobs Wins
F L O R I D A the TURNAROUND STORY RATE INCREASED TO Then Now RATE AS OF 11.4% UNEMPLOYMENT 6.2% 12/2013 9th Month FLORIDA BELOW NATIONAL AVERAGE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 830,000 LOST JOBS PRIVATE SECTOR JOB GROWTH 462,100 JOBS ADDED 2009 700,000 REEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE CLAIMS REACH FLORIDA BORROWS $3.5 BILLION FROM FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ONLINE JOB ADS FELL TO THE HISTORICALLY CONSTANT INFLUX OF NEW FLORIDA RESIDENTS FELL SHARPLY 159,000 REEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE JOB SUPPLY and DEMAND MIGRATION DECREASE IN CLAIMS SINCE 12/2010 05/2013 DEO REPAID THE GOVERNMENT LOAN IN FULL NET INFLOW BACK to ABOUT 235,000 285,000 500/DAY JOB OPENINGS STATEWIDE AS OF 12/2013 48% MEDIAN HOME PRICES FELL FROM THE PEAK IN 2006 TO FEB. 2011 HOUSING 11.4% MEDIAN HOME PRICES ARE UP OVER THE YEAR IN 12/2013 VISITOR RATE FELL TO 81 MILLION ECONOMIC IMPACT $61 BILLION TOURISM 2012 ECONOMIC IMPACT $72 BILLION 90 MILLION+ VISITORS $5.2 BILLION IN DEBT ADDED STATE DEBT $3.5 BILLION PAID DOWN TAXES and FEES RAISED TAXES/FEES - CUT TAXES 24 TIMES SINCE 2010 - MORE THAN 70% OF ALL BUSINESSES NO LONGER PAY THE BUSINESS TAX DEP permitting time: 79 days DBPR processing time: 41 days OFR application review time: 22 days EFFICIENCY in GOVERNMENT DEP permitting time: 33 days DBPR processing time: 1.91 days OFR application review time: 5 days CONSUMER CONFIDENCE TUMBLED ECONOMIC BUZZ CUSTOMER SENTIMENT AT 77 POINTS. BUSINESS CLIMATE HIGHLIGHTED IN THESE PUBLICATIONS: Area Develepment, Business Facilities, CEO, Fast Company, Fitch Credit Rating Agency, Forbes, and National Chamber Foundation. #ITSWORKINGFL Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) www.floridajobs.org Follow us www.facebook.com/fldeo or Twitter @FLDEO Information provided by the DEO Office of Communications: Media@deo.myflorida.com 850-617-5600 FLORIDA RANKS IN TOP 5 BEST STATES FOR FUTURE JOB GROWTH. - Forbes