Why Florida is Moving in the Right Direction under Governor Scott’s Leadership

Unemployment Continues to Decline
• Florida's unemployment rate has now declined year-over-year for 25 consecutive months.

• Initial claims for Reemployment Assistance benefits were down by 4.6 percent from one year ago while continued claims were down from an average of 553,000 in December 2010 to 270,181 for the week ending January 12, a 51 percent decrease.

More Jobs Being Created
• Florida is expected to create more than 900,000 new jobs by 2018, according to the Florida Economic Estimating Conference.

• Florida job postings increased in December 2012 compared to the previous December by 19,380 (+8.0 percent), for a total of 260,281 openings (seasonally adjusted) according to the Help Wanted Online data series from the Conference Board.

Growth Trends Up Across State Economic
• A recent U.S. Census Survey reported that Florida experienced an influx of people moving into the state, with two of the top ten single destination moves, New York-to-Florida (+59,288) and Georgia-to-Florida migrations (+38,658). Florida also led the nation in migrations from Puerto Rico with a net total of almost 15,000.

Consumer Confidence High
• Consumer confidence in Florida is near a five-year high, according to the University of Florida's Consumer Confidence Index.