While Florida’s economic recovery appears to be gaining steam, it is important to consider the types of jobs the state is adding. The industries responsible for much of the state’s job creation include retail trade and accommodation/food services. The private sector is rebounding moderately even as the U.S. recovery remains tepid. Current economic data suggest that Florida’s economic recovery will outpace the national trend in the year ahead.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Edie Ousley 850-521-1231 or 850-251-6261
eousley@flchamber.com

“As Florida’s trade and logistics industry grows, and prepares to take advantage of the expansion of the Panama Canal, removing the manufacturing and equipment sales tax will help ensure Florida can take advantage of these new opportunities, to double Florida-origin exports and create more high-skill, high-wage manufacturing jobs.”

– Mark Wilson, President and CEO, Florida Chamber

Tallahassee, FL (May 17, 2013) – Florida took a major step toward becoming more competitive today when Governor Rick Scott signed a bill into law eliminating the manufacturing and equipment sales tax. As a longtime supporter of reducing the manufacturing sales tax, the Florida Chamber of Commerce worked closely with our partners at the Manufacturing Association of Florida in supporting Governor Scott’s top priority.

According to The Florida Scorecard, manufacturing plays a strong role in Florida’s economy:

• 340,093 Floridians are employed in the industry,
• The Tampa Bay Area is home to 4 of the 10 largest manufacturing firms in Florida,
• The industry’s average wage for Florida is $51,848, which is higher than the overall Florida average of $41,574, and
• While the rest of the state’s economy grew .5% from 2010-2011, Florida’s manufacturing industry grew 3.3% in that time.

“Florida has been at a competitive disadvantage by being the only state on the Atlantic seaboard and on the Gulf coast to charge sales taxes on manufacturing equipment,” said Mark Wilson, President and CEO of the Florida Chamber. “As Florida’s trade and logistics industry grows, and prepares to take advantage of the expansion of the Panama Canal, removing the manufacturing and equipment sales tax will help ensure Florida can take advantage of these new opportunities, to double Florida-origin exports and create more high-skill, high-wage manufacturing jobs.”

According to Governor Scott, Florida only has 4.3 percent of its jobs in the manufacturing industry – way below the national average.

“With our 15 seaports and investment in our seaports, the fact that we’re a right to work state, and have lower business taxes, we should have way more manufacturing jobs than the rest of the country as a percentage. This is our opportunity to level the playing field,” Governor Scott said in a recent appearance on The Florida Chamber’s Bottom Line.

“Our strong partnership with the Florida Chamber is helping ensure manufacturers are well positioned to create the goods needed to fill port containers and achieve the goal of doubling Florida-origin exports,” said Nancy Stephens, Manufacturers Association of Florida.

The Florida Chamber thanks the Florida Legislature for passing this important competitiveness bill, and Governor Scott for signing it into law.

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Established in 1916 as Florida’s first statewide business advocacy organization, the Florida Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business and the state’s largest federation of employers, chambers of commerce and associations aggressively representing small and large businesses from every industry and every region. The Florida Chamber works within all branches of government to affect those changes set forth in the annual Florida Business Agenda, and which are seen as critical to secure Florida’s future. The Florida Chamber works closely with its Florida Political Operations and the Florida Chamber Foundation. Visit www.FloridaChamber.com for more information.

With a US $4.8 trillion economy, 600 million citizens and a growing middle-class, the countries of Central and South America and the Caribbean represent markets of growing importance for businesses and institutions looking to increase revenues by expanding beyond their home territories.

The Trade Américas initiative is designed to be one of the most effective ways for companies to learn how to connect and engage with Latin America.

There will be not be a more important event in North America focused on Latin America in 2013 than the Trade Américas Expo.

As a leading economic indicator of projected business activity in coming months, the CCI measures sentiments and opinions on a set of consumer perceptions and is widely used as a gauge of overall economic trends. While national trends suggest that short-term consumer spending may cool, Florida’s outlook continues to show signs of light. Of the five indicators used in the index, four showed growth with one staying unchanged.

Most notably, the indicator for expected economic conditions one year from now rose over 11 percent this month – from 72 in March to 80 in April. Are Florida’s policies and focus on strengthening job creation and improving the business climate effective? Apparently Florida consumers seem to think so.

To learn more visit www.TheFloridaScorecard.com.

On this installment in our ongoing series, listen to an interview with CFO Jeff Atwater as he discusses the impacts of Small Business on Florida’s economy. “4 out of 5 Floridians Go to Work in a Small Business Every Day…They are the key.”

To get involved with the Florida Chamber Small Business Council, click here.

The Florida Chamber’s Small Business Council works directly with state and national leaders to pass important legislation. During the 2013 Florida Legislative Session, the Florida Chamber was successful in passing workers compensation reforms that will lower rates for small businesses and defeated harmful union-backed mandated leave requirements by implementing a statewide standard that is fair for all parties involved. Support the Florida Chamber Small Business Council by clicking here.

In a recent Florida Chamber quarterly small business survey 68% of the respondents are worried or very worried that regulations, restrictions and taxes will negatively impact their ability to do business. However, 61% expect the economy to improve during the next three years. If you are not participating in the small business index survey, respond to this email and we will make sure your voice is heard next quarter.

Finally, preventing onerous state regulations from stopping your business is our goal. Please contact us immediately if you are suffering from state regulations in any way.

Florida’s job market was devastated by the 2007 Great Recession, but new economic data suggests that jobseekers may have better luck this year. According to a new forecast developed by the Florida Chamber Foundation, the state could see firms adding nearly 200,000 nonagricultural positions over the 2013 year. The employment forecast relies on a combination of factors including housing metrics, manufacturing delivery times, and consumer confidence.  Florida’s economy is still missing around half a million jobs when compared to the pre-recession level of employment. While the faster rate of job creation will not bring Florida’s economy back to the pre-recession norm, it is a sign that the recovery may not take as long as previously anticipated. Many Florida jobseekers have struggled to find employment opportunities as companies have been slow to increase hiring over the past several years.

During the first three months of 2013, Florida’s non-farm employers have added 55,000 new jobs to the economy—a sharp increase from the 27,400 positions added in the previous quarter. In March, Florida’s unemployment rate recently dropped to a post-recession low of 7.5%. This is the first time the state’s jobless rate has dropped below the national rate since the recent financial crisis. While the U.S. economy as a whole will face some challenges to growth as a result of federal sequestration and the ongoing Euro zone crisis, Florida is likely to outperform the national trend in the year ahead.

“Florida’s employment picture looks much brighter in 2013 as employers are likely to create more jobs when compared to last year,” said Rick Sessa, Research and Policy Manager for the Florida Chamber Foundation. “While federal budget sequestration and job quality will be continuing challenges, the recovery is likely to feel more robust for job seekers in the year ahead.”

For more information, visit www.TheFloridaScorecard.com.

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The Florida Chamber Foundation is the business-led, solutions development and research organization working in partnership with state business leaders to secure Florida’s future. The Foundation’s “Six Pillars” serve as a visioning platform for developing the first-ever, long-term strategic plan for the state. The Foundation’s work focuses on:  1) Talent Supply and Education, 2) Innovation and Economic Development, 3) Infrastructure and Growth Leadership, 4) Business Climate and Competitiveness, 5) Civic and Governance Systems, and 6) Quality of Life and Quality Places. Founded in 1968, the Foundation is a critical voice for improving the state’s pro-business climate to enable Florida to grow and prosper. For more information, visit www.FLFoundation.org.

Florida education has never been better, recently ranking sixth nationally in the prestigious Quality Counts survey. This is because of the “Bold Education Reform’’ experiment that Kathleen Oropeza criticized.

Back in the 1990s, Florida schools were a national embarrassment. The real victims were low-income children who were shuffled through the system, promoted from one grade to the next even if they couldn’t read. They were set up to drop out while all the adults in the system received stellar job reviews.

There was no accountability, no responsibility, no choice and lots of neglect for failure factories in poor neighborhoods. Where was the outrage about brutal experiments then?

We have empowered parents with choice, raised academic standards and applied the free market principles of competition and accountability to education, making schools innovative, responsive and efficient.

In 1998, Florida fourth-graders finished almost last in the nation in national reading assessments. Last year, they finished second in the world and far above the American average on the Progress in International Literacy Study.

More than two-thirds of African-American fourth-graders were functionally illiterate in 1998. Since then they have advanced more than two grade levels in reading.

We are becoming a national leader in the number of high school students taking and passing Advanced Placement courses. That is why our Hispanic students are far in front of their peers nationally on SAT scores.

Rhetoric and conspiracy theories about plots to privatize education make for great drama and sound bites, while a detailed analysis that shows Florida’s remarkable progress does not.

Far from scheming to undermine public schools, we want the best public schools in the nation, but we don’t believe you accomplish that through bureaucratic monopolies that can fail their mission without consequence.

How is it that we live in a world undergoing a digital revolution yet still face obstacles bringing this technology into education because many vested in the traditional public school model fear change?

The A-F grading system has focused unprecedented attention on failing schools, forcing districts to prioritize them, with low-income kids the beneficiaries.

Oropeza wrote: “Grades are based on high-stakes test scores and have little to do with what really goes on in a school.” Really? The number of kids who can read, write coherent sentences and do math has nothing to do with what really goes on in a school?

America has fallen behind in international competitiveness measures and Florida intends to set the national example for putting kids and education outcomes first. We hope leaders in North Carolina will join our efforts to lead America one state at a time.

MARK WILSON
PRESIDENT AND CEO, FLORIDA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
TALLAHASSEE, FLA.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s State Leading Index attempts to provide this gauge of Florida’s economic future by creating an index using state and national level leading indicators. Current and historical values of state initial unemployment claims, state housing permits, delivery times from the Institute of Supply Management’s manufacturing survey and interest rate spreads between 10-year and 3-year Treasury bills are used to generate a 6-month forecast of Florida’s economic growth.

Much of Florida’s success can be attributed to the improvement of the housing market. Relative to the first quarter of 2012, Florida and U.S. building permits increased by 60% and 30% in the first quarter of 2013, respectively. This increase includes permits for commercial buildings and residential housing. Simultaneously, Florida’s number of initial unemployment claims has continued its downward trend since mid-2012, indicating fewer Floridians are unexpectedly finding themselves unemployed. Florida’s economy has exhibited strength since the start of 2013 and as expressed by the State Leading Index, Florida’s six-month forecast is that of stronger economic growth.

For more information, please visit www.TheFloridaScorecard.com.

A G E N D A

Welcome

Mike Breen, Senior Director International Division, JAX USA

Opening Comments

Lee Sandler, Chair, International Business Council

Florida Strategic Plan (International Component)

Dr. Barbara Foster, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity,
Division of Strategic Business Development

2013 Legislative Session Highlights

Representative Lake Ray

Representative Daniel Davis

General Discussion of International Issues

Chair, Lee Sandler

Contact your member of Congress now and tell them to support the Marketplace Fairness Act!

The conversation occurring in Washington D.C. reflects a similar debate, which has occurred in Florida over the past few years. Known as “E-Fairness,” Sen. Nancy Detert (R-Venice) has championed the idea of collecting sales taxes from online purchases to help level the playing field for physical “brick and mortar” business locations. Sen. Detert’s idea encourages a fair and equitable taxation system and discourages government from determining winners and losers through unfair tax policy.

Contact your member of Congress now and tell them to support the Marketplace Fairness Act!

The Florida Chamber of Commerce is a long-time supporter of E-Fairness and collecting the Internet sales tax that is already in Florida law. The Miami Herald agreed, and earlier this year sent a loud message to lawmakers: Collect Online Sales Tax.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce will continue to closely watch this issue and update you as developments occur.

Join Us:

To join the Florida Chamber’s efforts on this issue or others, contact Greg Blose at 850-521-1243 or gblose@flchamber.com. Please take the Florida Chamber’s survey on manufacturing, trade, and logistics by clicking here.