Florida Unemployment Jumps Again, Housing Sector Hit Hard

By Michael Peltier
The News Service of Florida

One in 12 Florida workers was out of a job in December as unemployment rose to levels not seen since the first George Bush was in the White House more than 16 years ago.

Florida’s jobless rate rose to 8.1 percent in December. That’s the highest rate here since an 8.9 percent mark in September 1992, two months before voters chose a relatively obscure Arkansas governor over an incumbent who enjoyed sky high popularity after kicking Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait less than two years before.

{sidebar id=1}Last month, 752,000 Floridians were without work among a labor force of 9.3 million. The state’s economy has lost 255,000 jobs over the past 12 months.

The December rate was 3.6 percentage points higher than December 2007 and 0.7 percentage points higher than November. The state rate is higher than the national average, which in December was 7.2 percent.

Continued sluggish retail sales and a moribund construction sector continued to pull down the state’s growth-addicted economy. With a backlog of nearly 300,000 newly built homes – a 20-month supply—recovery isn’t expected to come any time soon. The state’s construction industry has lost more than 150,000 jobs over the past two years.

Consumer spending is also expected to remain weak as more people put off purchases in uncertain times. On Thursday, Universal Studios announced it would lay off 70 employees as attendance remained in a slump. That followed an announcement this week by Disney World that it was offering buyouts to more than 300 executives in central Florida.

“There’s really no relief in the near-term -- 2009 is going to be an incredibly difficult year in Florida, and jobless numbers are going to rise the whole time,” said Sean Snaith, an economist at the University of Central Florida.

Worker advocates say they hope the historic rates will provide the impetus for state officials to revamp unemployment compensation rules they say have been little changed for more than 70 years.

If changes are made, the state could collect up to half a billion dollars in federal funds and cover an additional 50,000 to 60,000 employees who are currently ineligible for benefits.

{sidebar id=1}“When you’ve got 8.1 percent unemployment, that is a substantial number of people who can’t contribute to the economy,” said Rich Templin, of the Florida AFL-CIO.

The union is calling on state lawmakers to amend state law to modernize the state’s unemployment insurance system.

Proposed changes include shifting the period used to determine benefits, allowing part-time workers to participate and permitting workers who are dislocated due to compelling family interests to qualify for benefits.

If the state makes any one of a handful of changes, at least $145 million in federal funds could find their way to Florida.

“With this dramatic jump in unemployment, changing legislation has been our focus,” Templin said. “Let’s take care of these folks in the short term.”

Builders, too, are asking for federal and state assistance to get buyers back in the market. From Washington, builders want an increase in home buyer incentives and a buy-down of interest rates to 3 percent on 30-year mortgages.

Builders are asking Gov. Charlie Crist to veto $190 million in affordable housing cuts and asking lawmakers to streamline permitting and growth management rules to make both less cumbersome.

“We’re hopeful that the Legislature is going to take some serious steps when they return,” said David Hart, the Florida Home Builders Association’s vice president of legislative and governmental affairs.

This article originally published on January 23, 2009.

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