Florida Economy Spiraling Down the Tubes

Florida business owners in for surprise

quote:

Florida employers already have a lot to worry about in 2010 — a sluggish economic recovery first and foremost. Now, add to that an unemployment compensation tax rate hike that, in its worst case, could increase their minimum payment by more than 1,000 percent, from $8.40 per employee to $100.30 per employee...

...Florida has been borrowing money from the federal government to pay out benefits since its trust fund ran out for the first time ever in August. The state borrows roughly $300 million per month and has an outstanding advance balance of about $1 billion as of January, according to the Florida Chamber.

But, Florida isn’t as far into the hole as other states, Daniel said. A total of 25 states are borrowing from the federal government to pay for benefits, and the number is expected to increase to 40 states by mid-2010. A handful of other states owe more than Florida, including California, which owed about $5 billion, and New York, which owed $1.6 billion, as of December. Both of those states’ debts also rose in January.