Four Florida cities face greater economic devastation than most, study says
Florida’s four major metros are its economic engines.
And according to a new study, those economies stand to take a greater hit than almost any other major U.S. city.
Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville and Tampa comprise four of the nation’s most-at-risk large metro economies from the coronavirus, according to data compiled by Volusion, an Austin, Texas-based marketing firm.
Volusion looked at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the U.S. Census Bureau to score metro areas based on their share of workers in likely affected industries. Orlando emerged as the second-most at-risk large metro in the U.S.; about one-third of the Central Florida workforce is employed in retail, leisure or hospitality.
Nationally, only Las Vegas has a higher share in those sectors, at 39%.
In the No. 3 slot is New Orleans, where 26% of the workforce could be impacted — and just behind is Miami, at No. 4, with 25% of its workforce considered highly vulnerable. The Miami metro comprises Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Coming in at No. 6 and No. 7 for share of workers in affected industries are Jacksonville and Tampa, with about 23% each.
The study also looked at cost of living, poverty rate, and overall number of workers likely impacted — making the local economy especially susceptible.
Miami also landed in the top 10 among other risk factors: above-average cost of living (8.4%, ranking it ninth), poverty rate (14%, in 10th place), and total workers in affected industries (668,000, or fifth place).
A separate study projects as many as 330,000 Florida hotel workers could lose their jobs.
The study authors note that the reliance on these sectors means a dependence on low-wage jobs.
“The coronavirus pandemic has led to an unprecedented economic shutdown as thousands of ‘nonessential’ businesses have closed their doors,” it said. “The crisis disproportionately affects the 21.3% of American workers in retail, leisure, and hospitality who not only face lack of work, but also suffer from long-standing, below-average wages.”
The grim figures jibe with data released by the state of Florida Tuesday showing about 650,000 unique unemployment claims have been filed.
Overall, Florida trails only Nevada and Hawaii in terms of share of workforce allocated to affected industries.
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 6:26 PM.
