It has been revealed that Florida’s economic index increased during the month of May by 0.6% to reach a level of 110.4, which means that overall there has been a yearly increase of nine points above the average witnessed during 2011.
Speaking about the news, the chief economist from Comerica Bank who released the index, Robert Dye, said: “Florida’s economy expanded slowly in May with the help of increasing residential construction activity, as shown by the small gain in or Florida Economic Activity Index. However, without the gain in residential construction permits, our index would have turned down for the month. Firming real estate markets will help in the months ahead, but we need to see hiring engage before we can say that Florida’s economy is making real headway.”
There are seven variables contained within the Economic Index: exports, non-farm payrolls, sales tax revenues, unemployment insurance continuing claims, hotel occupancy rates, airline passenger deplanements, and building permits. Together, the information is adjusted to allow for seasonal differences and indexed to a base of 2008. Where nominal values are present, these are converted to constant dollar values and the index is displayed giving a three-month moving average.
The rise in construction and building permits in the area comes on the back of a number of months which have seen rising demand for housing and prices that have begun to recover after the global property crisis crippled the market. As interest rates remain low, more people are being tempted back into the market; this is having a knock-on effect on the wider economy.