Population drops for first time since 1946
JACKSONVILLE (AP) – 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.
“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 economy relies on population growth, so when the flow of new residents slows, jobs in construction, real estate and mortgage lending disappear, creating a less attractive environment. Florida’s unemployment rate crept up to 10.6 percent in June, the highest rate since 1975, and the state’s foreclosure rate is among tops in the nation.
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.