Floridians’ consumer sentiment rose more than a point from January to 94.7 in February, the seventh straight month of increase, according to a new University of Florida survey.
“Economic optimism among Floridians continues to advance as many of the fundamentals show improvement,” says Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
The main driver was positive views of personal finances now compared with a year ago, which rose 7.6 points to 85.1, the highest level since June 2006 when the Florida housing market was at its peak. Among Floridians under age 60, it jumped from 84.2 in January to 92.5 in February; among those age 60 or older, it ticked up only from 64.1 to 64.7.
Confidence in the U.S. economy over the coming year fell 1.3 points to 94.4, while expectations of U.S. economic conditions over the next five years fell 0.4 points to 91.4.
Some economists share this caution about the future.
“The main concern is wage growth, which has not risen in line with the increase in employment. This is particularly a problem in Florida,” Mr. McCarty says.
Florida’s unemployment rate was 5.6 percent in December, the most recent state-level report. Low wage growth is a contributing factor to persistently slow inflation, which has led the Federal Reserve to be cautious about raising short-term interest rates, according to Mr. McCarty. “Based on recent testimony, the Fed is still on track to raise rates sometime between June and September, but that could change if the recovery stalls,” he says.
Some of those low-wage jobs are in Florida tourism, which has again achieved a record number of visitors and is likely to continue booming because of the harsh winter in the Northeast and idyllic weather here in the Sunshine State.
Housing prices for existing singlefamily homes in Florida were up 7.4 percent over the previous year, to $175,000. Housing gains vary considerably across the state, with South Florida, particularly Miami, among the bright spots.
http://fortmyers.floridaweekly.com/news/2015-03-11/Top_News/Consumer_sentiment_among_Floridians_continues_upwa.html
