Record low unemployment and record opportunity in South Florida
Unemployment hits 3.1 percent all-time low; wages get boost - Palm Beach Post
Excerpt: Palm Beach County unemployment fell to a rock-bottom level of 3.1 percent in September, an all-time record that underscores the region’s roller-coaster ride from boom to bust and back.
Surprisingly, the microscopic unemployment rate comes in late summer, a time when Palm Beach County’s labor market is usually soft
The entire state of Florida is in a hiring boom, one that has more than half of Florida counties showing jobless rates of 3.1 percent or less, state economists said Friday. The lowest rate among the state’s 67 counties was 2.3 percent in Okaloosa County in the Panhandle.
Palm Beach County’s previous record-low unemployment rate was 3.2 percent, a figure achieved in April 2006, when the real estate bubble had fully inflated. Just four years later, Palm Beach County’s jobless rate had soared to 11.6 percent.
“The local job market is on fire — it’s the best time in a dozen years to be looking for a job,” said Steve Craig, president and chief executive of the nonprofit CareerSource Palm Beach County
Bottom Line: Pretty great right? Here’s the tri-county area unemployment rates:
- Broward: 2.8%
- Miami-Dade: 3.6%
- Palm Beach: 3.1%
Those don’t just happen. Why in the world would you vote to reverse course now? We’ve been blessed with a Governor and general leadership throughout our state that’s provided the best economic recovery in the country. Once married with federal leadership that’s matching our good policy in Florida, we’re seeing record good economic outcomes in South Florida and across our state. It’s frankly crazy talk to suggest that we should reverse course with politicians that want to do the exact opposite of what got us here. Andrew Gillum, for example, is calling for a 41% increase on business taxes. If you did the same work but earned 41% less for it would you have a positive or negative reaction? Would you continue to spend and manage your finances the same way you have? Would you be able to spend and engage economically the same way you did before?
We shouldn’t even be having a serious conversation about someone who represents a wrecking ball to Florida’s record economy yet that’s what’s going on here. Predictably all three South Florida newspaper editorial boards have endorsed Gillum and generally most Democrats. Ironically in a worse economy they’d be among the first to disappear as advertising dollar would dry up. You should ask yourself and those who haven’t made a decision for Governor how much less you/they’d like to be earning. Why you/they would want a worse economy in Florida. Why you/they would take a look at Florida’s best ever economy and opportunity and literally vote against it. This year’s vote for governor is the most important we’ve ever had because the differences in policy have never been greater.