FIU’s Labor Report: Unemployment Down,
Wages Still Among the Lowest

(MIAMI, Fla. August 28, 2002) -- Despite a sluggish economy and post Sept. 11 effects on the tourism industry, fewer Floridians are out of work on this Labor Day than counterparts around the nation, a new report from Florida International University reveals.

“Lower unemployment is usually associated with good working condition and higher wages,” said FIU researcher Bruce Nissen, who publishes the yearly Labor Report on the State of Florida. “That is not necessarily true in Florida today.”

Incomes of Florida residents have been rising, although not quite as rapidly as for the nation as a whole. In 2001 Florida per capita income was $28,493, 94.1% of the U.S. average. Median income for a family of four in Florida was $55,351 in 2000 (the latest year for which statistics are available), or 88.9% of the U.S. average. This placed Florida 37th of the 50 states, down from 35th the year before, according to the FIU Center for Labor Research and Studies.
In order to help improve overall conditions for Floridians, who continue to lag behind residents of most states on many measures, Nissen recommends three policy proposals in this year’s report.

• Earned Income Tax Credit. An EITC is a tax rebate to low income wage earners. The federal government EITC is considered the most effective federal program to lift families and children out of poverty.

• Florida minimum wage. A state minimum wage covering all workers, including those escaping coverage under the national minimum wage (e.g., workers in very small establishments). If the minimum were set at $6.00 per hour, many low wage workers would benefit directly with extremely minimal disemployment effects.

• State "living wage" law. Florida would set a "public example" by legislating that its own employees and the employees of its service contractors be paid above the poverty level for a family of four, and that they be provided health insurance or its monetary equivalent.

As in years past, the report includes detailed information about income, wages and poverty rates, in addition to information regarding working conditions and benefits such as health insurance coverage. Specific information is offered about each of Florida’s counties and metropolitan areas.
For a look at the complete report visit http://www.fiu.edu/~clrs/florida2002.htm

Bruce Nissen may be reached at 305-348-2616 or at nissenb@fiu.edu
Opened in 1972, FIU has grown to become one of America’s best public research universities, with the Carnegie Foundation’s lead rating for research universities and a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the university currently enrolls some 35,000 students.

Media Contact:
Maydel Santana-Bravo
305-348-1555 or
santanam@fiu.edu

 


 
 
 

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