Wyoming, D.C. and Alaska could be your new home if you’re a resident of the sunshine state. More and more people from Florida are flocking to these states where these small population areas are producing large percentage gains.
According to the St. Petersburg times, the state of Florida has lost about 400,000 jobs since last August, bringing the number of people looking for work to a staggering 1.13 million. With numerous people losing their jobs every day, it is no surprise that the unemployed are looking elsewhere for work.
In the Tampa/Clearwater area alone, the unemployment rate is an astounding 13.1 percent. Ironically, according to Tampa Bay Online, as the unemployment rate rises, the number of jobs in Florida actually rose by 26,300 from January to February. The last time there was an increase in jobs from month to month was over 2 ½ years ago.
People who are most affected by the loss of jobs are foreign-born workers who are leaving Florida and returning to their home countries. Their jobs are being snatched up by natives who are becoming desperate and will take any job.
The diversity lottery states that for the first time since 2004, the unemployment rate for immigrant workers is higher than that of native workers.
Allegra Belliard is the program director at Catholic Charities. Her organization helps hundreds of legal refugees adapt into an American lifestyle. Last year her organization placed 24 clients a month in a stable working condition. This year, the average is 14 clients a month.
Belliard credits the large pool of applicants, especially those who speak English fluently, who are taking the jobs that these refugees once held. About 153,000 Florida immigrant workers appear to have lost their job and left the state in the past two years.
If anything Floridians are leaving the state because of the housing market crash. The population hasn’t dropped this much since the late 1940s. The state of Florida has been one of the biggest strugglers in the United States because Florida relies on rapid growth. However, with the recession, Americans are unable to sell their homes and move as quickly as they used to.
For the first time in years, three of the nation’s largest moving companies say they’re transporting more customers out of Florida than into it, according to the St. Petersburg Times. Higher insurance, utilities and property taxes are making Florida less and less attractive. Statistics show that those who are moving are those who are in the middle and upper class that can afford to hire these moving companies.
The trend seems to be that Floridians simply don’t have the funds to leave the state. They are taking jobs that were once taken by immigrants and refugees. The unemployment rate has skyrocketed over the past few years however jobs in the Tampa area have seen a steady increase.
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