This report presents annual data on the Florida labor force and comparisons with the U.S. Last year we could only see the beginning of the downturn, and now we see very clearly that the period from 2004 to 2007 represented a bubble in the economy that was unsustainable. Job losses and the increase in unemployment have entirely wiped away the gains made during the boom period. With regards to number of jobs and the unemployment rate, the gains that were made during those years have been lost, as if that growth had never occurred. Although the monthly data shows that job losses and unemployment appear to be leveling off, they are not likely to improve until at least well into next year, meaning that hundreds of thousands of Florida families will be struggling to get by for some time to come.
