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Fla. Population Drop Is First in 63 Years

By RON WORD
,
AP
posted: 6 HOURS 46 MINUTES AGO
comments: 155
filed under: National News
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Aug. 17) - Florida's population has declined for the first time in 63 years, state researchers said Monday as they blamed the recession for plunging tax revenues and a steep drop in new residents.
The decline — 58,000 people over the past year — is the first since large numbers of military personnel left the state in 1946 after World War II.
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Line at job fair in Miami in March 2009
Joe Raedle, Getty Images

Hundreds of people line up at a job fair in Miami in March. Florida's unemployment rate in June was 10.6 percent, the highest since 1975.

"There have been booms and busts over the time, but this is the first time it has declined," said Stan Smith, director of the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
Florida's unemployment rate was 10.6 percent in June, the highest level since 1975. The state has lost 392,800 jobs during the past year, continuing a decline that began in 2007, the Agency for Workforce Innovation said.
The population estimates were produced using data from residential electric hookups, building permits and homestead exemptions, Smith said. The university is expected to release details of city and county populations Wednesday.
Florida's population is about 18.3 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Part of the reason fewer people are moving to the state is their inability to sell their homes in other states, Smith said. The leading source for domestic migrants to Florida continues to be New York, but the pace of migration is slowing, Smith said.
The study did not measure the number of people leaving Florida.
"Historically, they have gone to other Sunbelt states," he said.
The population drop has left empty seats in classrooms. The state's estimated public school enrollment for 2009-10 is down 28,541 from the previous school year, according to the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research.
The future is not all gloom and doom, Smith said. Demographers expect Florida to resume growth again, just not as fast as in the past.
"As the country moves out of the recession, we expect growth to increase," Smith said. "But not as high as levels we've seen over the last three or four decades."
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Itsuo Inouye, AP

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Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-08-17 16:56:32
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Omeega86

06:50 PMAug 18 2009

Florida blows...........You've got to have Spanish as a first language to get a g*d damned drink!!

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(0)

Fordawm

06:47 PMAug 18 2009

MY NEPHEW WAS TRANSFERED TO FORT MEYERS 2 YEARS AGO. HE CANT STAND THE PLACE. HE SAID ITS OVERRUN WITH FAT NASCAR FANS AND LAZY OLD PEOPLE. HE SAID THE ONLY HARD WORKING PEOPLE IN FLORIDA ARE THE CUBANS..

AVG RATING:
(1)

JerryC09

06:46 PMAug 18 2009

Rent in Florida has risen dramatically but employers still cry and whine about paying even 9 bucks an hour. LOL I can't imagine why people have been moving out.

AVG RATING:
(1)

ANNMARIE47

06:46 PMAug 18 2009

If you can afford to live near the water, Florida is a nice place to be. However, the price for homeowners insurance, wind and flood insurance and the tax on real estate is enough to drive anyone away. I lived there for 30 years, just moved to Tennesse, costs a lot less to live here and it is a much more pleasant environment. Don't miss Florida ...

AVG RATING:
(0)

Mills1945

06:41 PMAug 18 2009

WE LOVE FLORIDA BUT SADLY HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GET OUT OF HERE --TAXES ON THE OUT OF CONTROL HOUSING PRICES ARE NOT --I REPEAT ARE NOT GOING TO BE REASSESSED TO THE CURRENT MARKET VALUE (ALTHOUGH THAT TAX ASSESSOR WAS AROUND ON A YEARLY BASIS AS THE HOUSES WENT UP AND UP AND UP ) OURS WENT FROM A COMFORTABLE $150,000 HOME TO $320,00 IN JUST 4 YEARS -- PRICE CAM PLUMMETING BACK TO NORMAL BUT THOSE TAXES REMAIN UP THERE AND THEN LETS NOT EVEN TALK ABOUT THE INSURANCE --A COMFORTABLE $800 A YEAR WHEN WE MOVED IN AND NOW JUST UNDER $4,000 --OUR DREAM TO COMFORTABLY RETIRE JUST BLOCKS FROM THE BEACH S-C-R-E-W-E-D WE ARE DONE SO SAD IT WAS SO ENJOYABLE

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(2)

SexyNC92

06:39 PMAug 18 2009

Mimi123Paris.....please stfu and kiss ass

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(0)

SMITHPchtrCty

06:39 PMAug 18 2009

Blacks are not the problem here in America. The fact is, American blacks are grouped together with all Nigerians, people from the congo, Hatians, Kenya, Obama, and the list goes on. If a crime is committed by a Hatian or Nigerian, he or she is automatically classified as a black. All American blacks are not bad, I have seen some rotten and corrupt white folks.

AVG RATING:
(1)

Wbc1962

06:37 PMAug 18 2009

Well, you know what they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure. No wonder they are moving out.

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(1)

Herbahater

06:35 PMAug 18 2009

Poor man's paradise,,,,, Only people from Hawaii can talk,,, Everyone else is jealous.

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(0)

Omeega86

06:35 PMAug 18 2009

You folks see that young Chica in the blue blouse...........I'll give her a job.......She can 'Work It' for me!!............And then she can give me a job, afterwards!!.......Wink, Wink!!

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(0)

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Florida\'s population shrinks by 58,000 in a year, its first drop since a large number of military personnel left after World War II. Officials blame the economy, saying fewer people are moving in because they can\'t sell their homes in other states.
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