LABOR REPORT ON THE STATE OF FLORIDA 

September 1, 2003 (Labor Day) 

by Bruce Nissen

Center for Labor Research and Studies

Florida International University

Miami, Florida 33199

305-348-2616            nissenb@fiu.edu

(Special thanks for Silvana Ianinska for assistance in data collection)

This report is available on the web at http://www.fiu.edu/~clrs. Click on “publications”, then click on the 2003 Labor Report on the State of Florida. 

Executive Summary

I.  Florida Economy Appears to be Doing Well

On Labor Day 2003, Florida’s economy appears to be doing better than the U.S. economy as a whole. The June 2003 unemployment rate was 5.3% (seasonally adjusted), .2% lower than a year before and well below the seasonally adjusted national average of 6.4%. Total non-agricultural employment for June was up 1.1% from a year earlier, again doing better than the national average, which dropped .3%. Florida also picked up jobs at a faster rate than was true for the nation as a whole. Thus one might expect Florida’s workers to be doing comparatively well, but wage and poverty figures do not validate this expectation.

II.  Florida incomes

2002 Florida per capita income was $29,559, 95.9% of the U.S. average, but 6.8% above the average for the southeast region of the country. The state’s advantage over the region has dropped from over 20% in 1970 (and 15% and 14% in 1980 and 1990) to below 7% today. The rate at which its per capita income grew from 2001 to 2002 was 1.9%, 34^th best of the 50 states in the union.

Median income for a family of four in Florida was $56,824 in 2001 (the latest year for which statistics are available), or 89.8% of the U.S. average.  This placed Florida 35^th of the 50 states. On this score, it ranks 4^th of the 12 states in the Southeast Region.

III.  Wages in Florida

For working people in Florida, trends in wages are more important than trends in income.  This is because income figures also include non-wage forms of payment such as returns from investments and pensions. Looking at wages, Florida fares more poorly than it does in income terms.  In the year 2001 (the latest year for which data are available), the Florida average yearly wage was $31,551, or 87.1% of the national average. 

The median hourly wage for all workers paid by the hour in the state in 2002 was $9.90/hour, or 94.6% of the U.S. average of $10.47/hour.  This is also lower than the median hourly wage for the states of the South Atlantic Region, which was $10.18/hr.  Adjusted for inflation, Florida median hourly rates in 2002 exceeded 1989 levels (the peak year of the last business cycle) by only 6.1%.  In constant 2002 dollars they changed from $9.33/hour to $9.90/hour in that thirteen-year period.

IV.  Low Income Workers, Inequality, and Poverty

Florida has a large concentration of workers earning very low wages.  As of 2002, 3.3% of the state’s workers earned less than the national minimum wage ($5.15/hour, or $10,700/year), and 3.8% earned either the minimum wage or less.  This is much higher than the national averages (2.2% and 3.0%) and somewhat higher than the regional averages (2.8% and 3.3%).

The number of Florida workers earning less than $8.00 per hour (well below the poverty level for a family of four) was also high.  Almost twenty seven percent (26.9%) of Florida workers were at this level of the “working poor” -- higher than either the national or regional averages.  And almost 40% earned less than $9.00 per hour, or under $18,720 per year. In all these respects, the state was below both national and regional standards.

An April 2002 study of Florida found that inequality grew from the late-1970s to the late-1990s, but had remained relatively unchanged from the late 1980s on. As of the late 1990s, Florida had greater income inequality between the richest fifth and middle fifth of its population than 40 of the 50 states, and greater inequality between the richest fifth and poorest fifth than 32 other states.

In part due to these low wages, Florida has slightly above average poverty rates compared to the U.S. average. In 1999-2001 (the latest three-year averages - used for greater statistical accuracy - for which information is available), Florida’s average poverty rate was 12.0% of the population, higher than the 11.6% national average, but lower than in 10 of the 12 states in the Southeast Region.

V.  Workplace Conditions and Government Worker Protections

Income is not the only measure of worker well being.  The way employees are treated in the workplace and government policies that protect workers are also important.  On this score, Florida rates poorly.  Together with six other states, Florida has no minimum wage law of any type. The 2003 legislature passed a law prohibiting municipalities or counties from creating minimum wage laws.  Florida’s unemployment compensation laws are written so restrictively that it has among the lowest percentage of unemployed qualifying for benefits in the nation. Its unemployment benefits are lower than in 33 of the 50 states. Florida also puts more restrictions on disability benefits than most states. And overall, the state ranks low in the number of worker protection statutes. 

Health insurance is important to all workers and their families.  In 2001 (latest year for which data are available), 17.5% of Florida residents had no coverage; only six states had a worse record. Within the Southeast Region, only one state fared worse.  Florida’s private health insurance coverage is comparably low: 7^th worst in the nation, with only one southeastern state doing worse.

Unions are perhaps the primary mechanism for U.S. workers to raise their living and working standards.  Therefore, the condition of unions within a state is another indicator of worker well being.  For all workers in 2002, Florida’s unionization rate was 5.8% of eligible workers, ranking the state 43^rd out of the 50 states.  In the private sector, the rate was 2.8%, 49^th in the nation.  Florida public sector workers were 24.6% unionized, 28^th in the nation. State government policy is generally hostile to unions – a “right-to-work” provision in Florida’s constitution ensures that workers covered by a union contract need not pay their union dues.

Florida is traditionally considered a “low tax” state, but this is not an accurate reflection of reality.  In 2003 Florida’s total tax burden on its citizens was 29.0%, making it the 22^nd highest in the nation. Because Florida has no income tax (which is deductible on one’s federal tax forms), its tax structure collects less money than average, yet imposes a higher tax burden than average.  This is because state income taxes are deductible on one’s federal tax return, but Florida lacks this deduction.  Thus Florida is, overall, a “high tax” state – it just doesn’t get most of those taxes, which go to the federal government.  Furthermore, working people and those in the lower income brackets pay a disproportionate percentage of the taxes that are collected, because the structure is highly regressive (meaning the wealthy pay less as a share of their income than lower income taxpayers).  Several studies have found the state’s taxes to be among the most regressive in the nation. 

VI.  How Florida’s Counties are Faring

This report gives data on all 67 of Florida’s counties, on a variety of measures:  employment, unemployment, wages, and poverty.  The reader can compare counties with the state as a whole, the nation, and each other.

VII.  How Florida’s Metropolitan Areas are Faring

This report also gives similar data on Florida’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), allowing the reader to compare all 20 MSAs on a number of indices of worker well-being.

VIII.  Public Policy: What Might the State Do About Substandard Conditions?

Through a variety of calculations, this study shows that the dependence of the Florida economy on tourism makes it overly reliant on industries that pay below average wages.  Compared to a “normal” state, we have an excess of jobs in accommodations and food service, leisure and hospitality, and retail trade. All of these pay wages substantially below the state average. Almost half of their employees earn less than $8.00 per hour.

To address this problem, this report recommends eleven measures beyond what is currently being attempted. These measures include a state minimum wage, changes in unemployment and disability compensation policies, provision of health insurance, more union-friendly policies, tax system overhaul, and a statewide living wage law. Few of these suggestions are likely to have a positive reception in the state’s capital, however, given the current political climate.

IX.  Conclusion

            Some of the measures used to evaluate labor market performance show Florida’s economy working very well.  Unemployment in the state is lower than it is nationwide.  Florida’s economy has been adding jobs at a more rapid rate than has the nation.  Real per capita income has been growing slowly, but slightly more rapidly than in the nation as a whole. 

            Yet Florida’s workers are not faring as well as the state’s economy. Florida is a low wage state, with a disproportionate number and percentage of low wage jobs. On a variety of non-wage issues, from minimum wage policy, unemployment compensation policy, disability policy, health insurance coverage, unionization, tax policy, and statutory protections of workers, Florida is also inferior to national norms.

            This report recommends a number of public policy measures that would address this situation. The state’s current political climate is hostile toward most of these suggestions, however. Yet the problem of low wages will persist and probably worsen unless active measures are taken. The state could do a lot better by its working people and especially its least favored laborers, but may lack the political will to do so.

Labor Report on the State of Florida

Labor Day 2003

I.  Florida Economy Appears to be Doing Well

On Labor Day 2003, Florida’s economy overall is faring somewhat better than that of the nation as a whole. The June 2003 unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) was 5.3%, down .2% from the 5.5% rate a year earlier. This rate was below the national seasonally adjusted rate of 6.4%. Largest job gains were in local government (+22,300 jobs), followed by health and social services (+14,500 jobs), professional and technical services (+14,400 jobs), and construction (+14,000 jobs). Offsetting losses came primarily from manufacturing (-18,800 jobs), information (-8,100 jobs), retail trade (-7,500jobs), and transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-5,200 jobs). (July 18, 2003 FL Employment and Unemployment press release, FL Agency for Workforce Innovation).

            Total non-agricultural employment in the state increased 1.1% from a year earlier, at 7,230,700. By contrast, the nation’s non-agricultural employment declined .3% over the same time period. (July 18, 2003 FL Employment and Unemployment press releases, FL Agency for Workforce Innovation).

            The hospitality and tourism sectors, important in Florida, still have not recovered to pre- “9-11-01” levels, although they are slowly improving, according to the regional Federal Reserve Board (Federal Reserve Board - Sixth District - Atlanta, “The Beige Book”, July 31, 2002). 

            Florida’s unemployment rate has been lower than the national rate for sixteen straight months. The state has also experienced the largest growth of jobs of any state in the nation from mid-2002 to mid-2003. Thus one would expect that workers in the state would be faring reasonably well. Relatively low unemployment rates and rapid job growth traditionally mean better wages and conditions for workers. Are workers in fact doing well?  The answer depends on facts concerning incomes, wages, poverty, and the like. 

II.  Incomes in Florida

Per capita income levels in Florida have been growing.  In 2002 (the latest year for which statistics are available), per capita income in Florida was $29,559, almost a 45% increase over the 1992 level ($20,441).  (These figures are not adjusted for inflation; if we do adjust for inflation and compute the real increase in purchasing power, the increase for the entire decade 1992-2002 is only 13%, just above 1% per year).  Florida’s 2002 per capita income was 95.9% of the 2002 U.S. average ($30,832), a slight increase from 2001 when it was 95.5% of the U.S. average (website: http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/regional/data.htm) . Even though state per capita income was below the U.S. average, Florida ranked 23^rd on this measure within the 50 states, down from 21^st in 2001. The rate at which its per capita income grew from 2001 to 2002 was 1.9%, 34^th best of the 50 states in the union.

            Florida’s per capita income was gaining on the U.S. average each decade until the 1990s.  In fact, it exceeded the U.S. average in 1990, but during that decade it fell backward and has been slowly inching upward in 2001 and 2002, although not back up to levels attained in 1970, 1980, or 1990.  Figures are shown in Table 1.

Table 1

Florida per capita personal income, compared to the U.S. as a whole

Source: website: http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/regional/data.htm 

            While Florida did less well on per capita income in the 1990s than the nation as a whole, it finally did raise real incomes in the final years of that decade.  By the end of the decade, Florida’s per capita income was 7.6% higher in 2000 than in 1990.  This is an extremely poor showing, given the strong and uninterrupted economic growth for that decade, but it is better performance than was evident in the first half of the decade, when incomes actually dropped. 

            While it is slightly below the national average, the Florida per capita personal income is higher than the average for the region of the country to which it belongs (the Southeast region, comprising twelve states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia).   This region has become the poorest in the nation, and yet Florida’s per capita income advantage over the region of more than 20% in 1970 decreased to somewhere between 6% and 7% in the 2000-2002 period. Table 2 shows the progression of Florida’s per capita income, compared to its regional neighbors:

Table 2

Florida per capita income, compared to the Southeast Region of the United States, various years

Source: Website http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/regional/data.htm   

            Median income (meaning income where half earn more and half earn less) for a Florida family of four was $56,824 in 2001, the latest year for which statistics are available.    (Website:  http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/4person.html ) This is 89.8% of the national average ($63,278), which places the state 35^th out of the nation’s 50 states.

            In the eleven years from 1990-2001, Florida’s median 4-person family income slipped some in the mid- 1990s (1991-1996), regained some ground in 1997-1999, and once again fell in the 2000-2001 period. Whether the backsliding in 2000-2001 was a temporary aberration or part of a longer trend remains to be seen as more recent figures come out. Table 3 shows the relevant figures for the eleven years of 1990 through 2001.

Table 3

Florida median income for a family of four, compared to the U.S. as a whole

Source: Website: http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/4person.html  

            Of the 11 other states in the Southeast Atlantic region eight had lower family of four median incomes (Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia).  Three had a higher one: Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia.  Thus, Florida is slightly above average (4^th out of 12) in the region and below average for the country as a whole.

III.  Wages in Florida

For working people in Florida, the trends in wages and salaries are more important than trends in income.  Simple income figures include retirement, investment, and other non-wage forms of payment, thereby obscuring the actual conditions of those working for a living.  This is especially true in Florida, because of the disproportionate share of the state’s population composed of wealthy retirees living off pensions and investment income (dividends, interest, and rents).  Therefore income figures tend to overstate well being compared to the living standards of working individuals and families.

            The degree to which per capita income figures distort the wage picture should be apparent from the state’s rankings in the amount of per capita income it receives in dividends, interest, rent, and retirement income.  In 2000 the state was second in the nation in per capita dividend income ($1,949 per capita vs. a national average of $1,344).  It was third in the nation in per capita income from combined dividends, interest and rent ($7,005 vs. a national average of $5,389).  And it was eighth highest in the nation in per capita retirement (and other) income ($3,840 vs. a national average of $3,343).  In 2001, over one quarter (25.9%) of all income in the state took the form of dividends, interest, or rent ( http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/regional/data.htm ).

            Turning to wages and salaries, Florida tends to look comparatively worse than it does in income terms.  In the year 2001, the Florida annual average pay was $ 31,551  (Website: ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/atlanta/aapse.txt ).  This is 87.1% of the national average, well below the state’s 95.9% record in per capita income compared to the national average.

            In median hourly wage for workers paid by the hour, Florida climbs back into the mid-90s percentile compared to the U.S. as a whole.  In 2002 (the latest year for which data are available), it was $9.90/hour, 94.6% of the national figure of $10.47/hour.  Florida was also below the average for the South Atlantic region, which was $10.18/hour. (The South Atlantic region, which is not identical to the Southeast Region used by the Census Bureau in earlier figures, is used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for comparisons. It is composed of: Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia).  Detailed comparison with individual states in this region is impossible because most regional states are to small to produce Current Population Survey samples large enough for statistically reliable results. 

            Compared to the peak year of the last business cycle, 1989, median hourly wages in Florida for workers paid by the hour took until 1999 to catch up to and surpass their previous levels in real terms (after numbers are adjusted for inflation).  Converting all wage rates to year 2002 dollars, Table 4 shows the wage changes from 1989-2002 for Florida, the South Atlantic Region, and the United States: 

Table 4

Hourly mean wage rates in constant 2002 dollars for workers paid by the hour, Florida, South Atlantic Region, and the United States, 1989-2002

Source: Calculations from U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished data from the Current Population Survey, Table A-21, relevant years.  Consumer Price Index figures were used to adjust wages to 2001 dollars.

As is apparent from Table 4, Florida shared wage trends with the South Atlantic Region and the United States as a whole in the 1990s: real wages fell through 1997 or 1998, only catching up to previous wage levels in 1999.  Since 2000, real wages have grown.

IV.  Low-income Workers and Inequality

One of the major problems for Florida workers is the state’s extreme inequality of wage levels.  A disproportionate share of the state’s workers earn very low wages.  As of 2002 3.3% of the state’s workers earned less than the national minimum wage ($5.15/hour), and 3.8% earned at or below the minimum wage.  This is much worse than either the national or regional percentages on both scores, as shown in Table 5.    

Table 5

Percentage of workers earning below the minimum wage , or at or below the minimum wage, Florida compared to the South Atlantic Region and the U.S. as a whole, 2002                           

Source: calculated from unpublished data in the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPS Table A-21

Workers can earn less than the national minimum wage because certain categories of workers (e.g., agricultural workers, waiters and waitresses, workers in extremely small businesses, etc.) are exempted from the minimum wage.  Also, of course, some employers simply break the law. Earning less than the minimum wage meant that someone working full time for a complete year would earn less than $10,700. 

            If we add to these sub-minimum wage workers the other low wage workers earning less than $8.00 per hour, fully 26.9% of Florida workers in 2002 were at this level of the “working poor.”  And almost 40% earned less than $9.00 per hour. On both figures, the state is worse than the national and regional averages, as shown in Table 6

Table 6

Percentage of workers earning less than $8.00 per hour and less than $9.00 per hour in Florida

compared to the South Atlantic Region and the U.S. as a whole, 2001

Source: calculated from unpublished data in the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPS Table A-21

The approximately 27% of Florida workers who are earning less than $8.00 per hour are earning less than $16,620 a year, even if they work full time year round.  The official U.S. poverty level for a family of four in 2002 was $18,100 per year, or $8.70/hour (website: http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/02poverty.htm ).  Thus, those earning less than $16,620 per year are at least $1,500 below the poverty level.  (The official U.S. government poverty guidelines are well known to be only about 55% of the income required to be self-sufficient – i.e. to be able to support oneself or one’s family at an absolute minimum level without governmental assistance or charity.  Thus, a family of four with two wage earners earning at approximately federal poverty level wages will be just barely above the self-sufficiency level, a more realistic “poverty level”.) 

An April 2002 study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that inequality in the state had increased from the late 1970s to the late 1990s, but had remained essentially unchanged from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. The state’s poorest 20% of families saw their incomes increase in the late 1970s to late 1990s period at less than half the rate of increase for the top 20%.  As of the late 1990s, Florida had greater income inequality between the richest fifth and middle fifth than 40 of the 50 states, and greater inequality between the richest fifth and poorest fifth than 32 other states (Website: http://www.cbpp.org/4-23-02sfp-states.htm).

            Low wages and high inequality usually translate into high levels of poverty, and Florida most likely has above average levels of poverty. The U.S. Census Bureau averages data over a two or three year period, to make for more reliable statistics.  In the three year period 1999-2001 (the last three years for which information is available), Florida’s average poverty level was 12.0% of the population, compared to the U.S. rate of 11.6%.  (It is possible that this difference is simply due to sampling error, but the difference is probably real.)  Florida has the 20^th highest poverty rate of the 50 states.

Although it is worse than the U.S. as a whole, on this measure Florida fares better than ten of the other eleven states in the Southeast region.  Figures are given in Table 7, from lowest poverty to highest poverty rates.

Table 7

Percent of population in poverty, 1999-2001 for Florida, Southeast Region States, and the US

Source: Website http://www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/poverty01/table4.pdf  )

            On Labor Day 2003 Florida’s working people have lower wage levels and higher poverty levels than U.S. norms. Compared to the region, the picture is mixed:  poverty levels tend to be lower in the state, and per capita income levels higher, but wage levels tend to be lower than regional norms.

V.  Workplace Conditions and Government Worker Protections

Income is not the only measure of worker well being.  Also important are workplace treatment of employees and government policies which protect workers.  Therefore in this section we rate the state of Florida on a number of other dimensions.

            Minimum Wage. One measure of a state’s public policy toward workers is the level at which it sets the state minimum wage, the wage required to be paid to workers within the confines of its borders. Here Florida ranks dead last in the nation: together with six other states, it has no minimum wage law whatsoever. The 2003 Florida legislature passed a law prohibiting counties and municipalities from creating a local minimum wage, and the bill was signed into law by the governor in the summer of 2003.

            Unemployment compensation. Another important measure is how well a state treats its unemployed. Florida’s unemployment compensation laws are written very restrictively, preventing most unemployed from being eligible to collect benefits. A comparison of the May 2003 number of unemployed in the state with the number collecting unemployment benefits during the week May 31-June 7, 2003 shows that only approximately 30% of the unemployed in Florida are receiving benefits. (Calculations done from statistics on the following two websites: http://ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/page8/062603.html and http://www.labormarketinfo.com/laus/LAUS.HTM .) This is well below the national average, since most states do not have such a restrictive law. In the past few years Florida has ranked somewhere among the dozen most restrictive states in its unemployment compensation program.  Historically, unemployment compensation coverage among all fifty states has been approximately 40% of all unemployed, almost one third higher than the Florida rate. Once a worker does qualify, Florida gives smaller unemployment benefits than in 33 of the fifty states.  In May 2003, Florida’s average unemployment benefit was $227.81/week, below the $262.72 U.S. average (Website: http://www.ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/claimssum.asp ).

            Temporary Total Disability.  Florida’s maximum weekly benefit for temporary disability is very close to the average for all states:  $571, placing the state 23^rd in the nation on this measure.  However, its law is far inferior to most states in two respects.  First, it limits benefits to a total of 104 weeks, which is more restrictive than 45 of the 50 states.  Only one state has a shorter maximum period, and three have either the same one, or different restrictions that could be considered either worse or better for the employee, depending on circumstances. Florida also subtracts any income from social security or unemployment insurance benefits from the workers compensation payment, lowering payments in a manner worse than 42 of the 50 states.  Four states have even more subtractions, and one has a similar or ambiguously better or worse benefit cut. Thus, the state’s law is slightly inferior to the national norm (Website:  http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/statutes/owcp/stwclaw/tables-html/table-6.htm ).

            Permanent Total Disability. Florida’s maximum weekly benefit for total disability is the same as for temporary disability, and it is very close to the average for all states: $571 (23^rd of the 50 states).  However, it has the same feature reducing benefits by social security and unemployment insurance “offsets” as obtain for temporary disability, once again placing it near the bottom of states on this undesirable feature from the point of view of the recipient.

(Website: http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/statutes/owcp/stwclaw/tables‑html/table‑7.htm )

            Statutory Protections of Workers.  Various other state protections of workers and their rights are possible. Subjects include anti-discrimination, drug testing, family leave, anti-AIDS discrimination, sexual harassment, right-to-work, time off to vote, pay for overtime, equal pay, maximum hours, right-to-know, whistle blower protection, and anti-smoking. While a measure of such laws is difficult to quantify, the small number of such laws that actually protect workers in Florida shows that here again the state is inferior to national norms.

            Health Insurance Coverage. One of the most basic needs of workers and their families is health insurance coverage. Therefore, the percentage of a state’s residents with such coverage is a basic measure of their well being. Florida fares poorly on this measure. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2001 (the latest year for which data are available), 17.5% of those residing in Florida had no health insurance coverage of any kind, the eighth highest non-coverage rate among the 50 states.  This compares to 14.6% nationwide. Florida has stood still since 1998, although 2000 and 2001 show small improvements on 1999 figures.  Table 8 shows coverage for the years 1998 through 2001. 

Table 8

Percentage of Florida residents without health insurance of any kind, 1998-2001

Source: Website http://www.census.gov/hhes/hlthins/historic/hihistt4.html

In the year 2001, only six states had a higher percentage of residents without health insurance, and all of the states in the southeastern section of the United States have higher coverage, with the exception of the state of Louisiana.

If we turn to private health insurance coverage, the state ranks equally poorly.  In 2001, 34.3% of Florida’s residents lacked private health insurance coverage. Only six states had a lower percentage, and once again only Louisiana among southeastern region states fared worse.  ().

            Unionization. Unions are perhaps the primary mechanism for U.S. workers to raise their living and working standards. On average, union members earn between 20-30% more than non-union workers. They also exert greater influence over their working conditions, and they have contractual guarantees against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment. Therefore the condition of unions within a state is another indicator of worker well being. In this regard, states can be measured in two ways: the size and strength of unions, and public policies toward unions that either encourage or inhibit their existence. On both fronts, Florida fares very poorly comparatively.

            For all Florida workers, the unionization rate in the year 2002 was 5.8% of eligible workers, less than half of the U.S. rate of 13.3%.  This ranks Florida 43^rd out of the 50 states.  In the private sector, union membership was 2.8% of eligible workers, less one third of the U.S. rate of 8.6% and ranking the state 49^th out of 50.   For private manufacturing workers, the state union membership rate was 3.2%, less than one fourth of the U.S. rate of 14.3%, and placing the state 47^th out of 50. Florida’s private sector construction workers are 3.4% unionized, less than one fifth of the national rate of 17.4% and 48^th in the nation (website:  http://www.unionstats.com ).

            Florida’s year 2002 public sector unionization rates are much higher than those in the private sector. Twenty four and six tenths percent (24.6%) of its public sector workers are union members, compared to a U.S. average of 37.8%. This places the state 28^th in the nation. Clearly, public sector workers in Florida have larger and therefore stronger unions than do those in the private sector (website: http://www.unionstats.com ).

            Compared to 1992, Florida’s 2002 unionization rates fell.  For the workforce as a whole, unionization dropped from 1992 to 2002 from 8.1% to 5.8%; for private sector workers from 4.2% to 2.8%; for private manufacturing workers from 5.3% to 3.2%; and for private construction workers from 6.2% to 3.4%. For public sector workers the rate dropped much less, from 26.1% to 24.6% (website: http://www.unionstats.com ).

            The state government’s public policies are not friendly to unions. Florida is one of only two states with a ban on negotiated requirements of union membership for employees in unionized establishments (also known as a “right-to-work” provision) built into the state constitution. Twenty- two states have such provisions, but most are merely state laws, not constitutional requirements that are much harder to change.

            “Right-to-work” provisions of this nature hurt unions by allowing workers covered by a union contract to not pay their union dues, i.e., be “free riders” accepting the benefits of union coverage without paying for it. Almost a quarter (23.7%) of workers in Florida in the year 2002 covered by a union contract were “free riders.” (This means that union coverage in Florida was 7.6% even though union membership was only 5.8%). Unions are hurt financially and are unable to represent members (and non-members) as effectively when a quarter of those they represent do not pay their dues, as is the case in Florida.

            Tax Burden. Florida is traditionally considered a “low tax” state, but this is not an accurate reflection of reality.  In 2003 Florida’s total tax burden on its citizens was 29%, making it the 22^nd highest in the nation ( http://www.taxfoundation.org/statelocal03.html ).  This is true even though the state and its localities collect less money per capita than 43 other states.  How can this be?  Florida’s total tax burden must also include federal taxes, and by refusing to have a state income tax, Florida disadvantages itself.  It simultaneously collects less money than average, yet imposes a higher tax burden than average. State income taxes are deductible on one’s federal tax return, but Florida lacks this deduction. Thus Florida is, overall, a “high tax” state – it just doesn’t get most of those taxes, which go to the federal government.

            Furthermore, working people and those in the lower income brackets pay a disproportionate percentage of the taxes that are collected.  Florida has one of the most regressive tax structures in the nation. (“Regressive” means lower income people pay a higher percentage of their income for state and local taxes than do their wealthier counterparts.)  A 1996 study by Citizens for Tax Justice found that in 1995 low-income Floridians (bottom 20%) paid 3.9 times as high a percentage of their income as did the very highest income (top 1%) residents. And the middle income 20% paid 2.1 times as high a rate as the highest income.  Thus, the tax burden on low- and middle-income Florida workers is even higher than it is for the population in general. The tax burden is not distributed equitably among the wealthier and poorer segments of the population. On this measure, Florida is at the extreme fringe among U.S. states.

            Thus, we find that Florida’s public policies toward workers and the workplace conditions in the state are, on average, inferior to those of the country as a whole. From minimum wage to unemployment compensation, health insurance coverage to union rights and protections, statutory protection of workers’ rights, to distribution of the tax burden, Florida has rather consistently been among the very least worker-friendly states in the nation.

            In the past, conscious strategies employed to attract businesses to the state have resulted in low-wages and substandard conditions for workers.  Some political leaders and economic development officials have viewed (and view) Florida’s low-wage status as a positive feature. An article in the January 11, 1998 issue of The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville notes this:

Florida has always been known for its low-wages, said John Haley, a vice president of business recruitment at Jacksonville’s Chamber of Commerce. For years, these low-wages were used as a carrot to attract potential employers to Florida, he said.

“What Florida had done for many years was sell our poverty,” he said. “We sold cheap labor, cheap land and no income tax.” 

While low pay attracted business to Florida, it also filled out its employment base with low-paying jobs. 

Some economic development efforts in more recent years are focused on attracting higher wage jobs.  But the historical legacy has a continuing impact. 

VI.  How Have Florida's Counties Fared?

As in other large states, employment opportunities and earnings in Florida vary greatly across geographical areas and labor markets.  To provide a more detailed picture of how workers fared during the current economic expansion throughout Florida, this report examines trends in the employment, unemployment, and earnings for Florida's 67 counties.

Job creation is a vital part of all economic expansions, providing employment for large portions of job seekers.  Florida's employment growth from 1995 to 2003 has been very rapid.  Table 9 shows employment changes for the 67 counties, listing the counties in alphabetical order.  The next to the last column ranks the counties by how rapidly they grew on a percentage basis.  The 27 numbered in bold grew at a faster rate than Florida’s eight year growth rate of 17.5 percent, while 40 had slower growth rates. Ten of these forty actually had negative growth rates.  Nineteen of the forty slow growth counties grew at less than half the state rate (.i.e., 8.7% or less) and seventeen of the twenty seven fast growth counties grew at over one and one half times the state’s pace (i.e., over 26.25%). 

Table 9

June Employment, 1995 and 2002, plus percentage changes and rankings,  Florida and its counties

Source: Calculated from figures on website:  http://www.labormarketinfo.com/laus/lfsjun1.xls   Note that June 2003 figures are preliminary.

            Table 10 shows the June unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) for Florida and its counties (in alphabetical order) for 1995, 2002, and 2003, as well as the percentage change between the two earlier years and 2003.  In the last two columns, numbers for counties that did better than the state as a whole (i.e., lowered unemployment more) are printed in bold.  As is apparent, thirty eight of the state’s sixty seven counties did better than the state as a whole in the 1995-2003 period (next to last column), while forty eight did better in the past year (last column).

Table 10

      June unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) for Florida and its counties, various years

Source:   Data from the Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security, LAUS files.  Note that June 2003 figures are preliminary.

            The reader is cautioned that the figures given above are for the month of June only, and thus may differ a bit from long term unemployment rates. (In addition, June 2003 figures are only preliminary). They should be used only as general indicators of comparative unemployment, not precise rates for counties or the state.  Nevertheless, the data do show that counties exhibited considerable variation from the state average in unemployment trends.  Individual comparisons of counties can be easily done from the above table.

            Despite the employment expansion throughout most of Florida, wages in most counties stayed far below the national average.  In 2001--the most recent date for which county-level wage information is available-- the average wage for Florida was $31,253, which was 87.9% that of the U.S.  Average earnings for most counties were considerably below this, however, as shown in the last two columns of table 11 below.  In the fifth and sixth columns the county’s wage and state ranking is given in bold if the county had average wages above those of the state.  Only ten of the sixty seven counties did. 

            The final column show’s the county’s average wage as a percentage of the average wage in the United States as a whole.  As noted, all but ten have a figure even lower than the state’s 87.9%. It should also be noted that even the county with the highest wage (Palm Beach County) did not quite manage to achieve the U.S. average wage.

                The most populous counties (Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, Duval, Broward, Hillsborough, Orange, etc.) had the highest average wages in the state.  Florida’s general low wage problem is most acute in the more rural and semi-rural parts of the state.  Some of the largest metropolitan areas, while not in good shape, were better than the state’s average.

Table 11

Average wage per job (current dollars), Florida and its counties, state ranking of counties,

and ratio of average wages for Florida and counties versus U.S., 1989, 1995, 2000, and 2001