Florida’s economy has lost ground in the last decade. In their annual Labor Day report, F-I-U economists say the state’s median income has fallen at a greater pace than the rest of the nation. The report also shows poverty has jumped nearly fifty percent over a four-year span. Researchers tell the Tampa Bay Times that even though the Great Recession affected the state greatly, the state’s economic ills predate the crash of five years ago. Florida’s unemployment hit a high of eleven-point-four percent three years ago. It has dropped to seven-point-one percent, but it has remained there for three months. Census data shows Florida has the second-highest rate of uninsured residents under sixty-five.
