Fla. economist: Job levels won’t return until 2014

ORLANDO, Fla. – Oct. 30, 2009 – The U.S. economy grew by 3.5 percent during the quarter ending Sept. 30, but Florida economist Sean Snaith isn’t ready to throw a recovery party just yet. The University of Central Florida researcher says despite federal reports released Thursday of a national rebound, Florida’s recovery will lag behind as it continues to be hamstrung by a glut in housing and only a gradual recovery in consumer spending.

Employment levels won’t return to pre-recession conditions until 2014, Snaith estimates.

“The job market will haunt us for years after the recession has ended,” Snaith says. “As we saw during the boom, strong growth can quickly and dramatically ratchet down the unemployment rate, but a weak recovery just prolongs our pain.”

Other state economists concur that Florida’s unemployment rate will exceed its current 11 percent level and top out sometime next year. They also agree that the state’s economic recovery will be gradual and slower than the rebound elsewhere.

Source: News Service of Florida