A whopping 82 percent are optimistic about what the new year will bring for their families, according to the latest AP-GfK poll. That sunny outlook seems at odds with other findings. ...more

December 31, 2009

Florida's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October 2009 is 11.2 percent, according to the Agency for Workforce Innovation. ...more

November 22, 2009

Florida's unemployment rate increased slightly to 11.2 percent in October, while the Tampa Bay area's rate decreased slightly to 11.7 percent, according to figures released Friday. ...more

November 21, 2009

but not on the same scale. In Country A, employment has fallen more than 5 percent, and the unemployment rate has more than doubled. In Country B, employment has fallen only half a percent, and unemployment is only slightly higher than it was before the crisis. ...more

November 15, 2009

The unemployment rate has hit double digits for the first time since 1983 - and is likely to go higher. ...more

November 7, 2009

Guest Columnist Glen Besa tried to paint the energy and climate bill called Cap and Trade as a legislative thing of beauty and a joy to behold. ...more

October 28, 2009

Forecasters predict a relatively mild hurricane season this year. If their projections bear out, it couldn't come at a better time. Floridians face the worst recession since the 1930s, with double-digit unemployment rates, broad job losses across several industries and a disastrous real estate market clogged with foreclosures and vacant homes. In a state reliant on tourism and housing, a major hurricane could plunge the economy into an even steeper decline. Perhaps we'll be fortunate again. If not, here's a look at the grave effects of a major storm on Florida's historically vibrant economic engines: housing, tourism and jobs. ...more

June 14, 2009

The number of jobless residents in the Tampa Bay area has topped 10 percent while the state unemployment rate hit 9.4 percent, according figures released today. ...more

March 27, 2009

We are now finishing the 16th month of the recession, which began in December 2007, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Not only is this a long recession, but it's also a severe one, marked by painfully high levels of job losses, a sharply reduced credit flow and a drop in the value of many investments. ...more

March 27, 2009

As painful as it may be for state workers to contemplate, lawmakers are right to consider salary cuts this year. ...more

March 26, 2009