Sector Weakness Could Derail State's Competitiveness
A new legislative study says Florida's economic competitiveness with other states remains "reasonably strong" overall, but could be threatened in a few vital areas by low productivity and profitability.</br></br>The in-depth report by the Legislature's Office of Economic and Demographic Research examined business data from Florida and 24 rival states. In part, the report simply confirms what previous research has showed: Florida generally enjoys lower costs -- particularly labor costs -- than most of its rival states.</br></br>For many sectors, that helps translate into strong competitiveness. For example, Florida's electronics-manufacturing sector is highly profitable, thanks in large part to low labor costs, the report notes.</br></br>But with Florida's relatively low-skill, low-wage work force, productivity tends to be low, the report concludes. That is contributing substantially to relatively weak profitability in some industries. Even Florida's mighty hotel industry suffers from profitability that's 1.5% below the national average, the report shows.</br></br>Of particular concern is the state's surprisingly low profitability in a couple of high-tech sectors that state leaders are anxious to nurture, including the aerospace industry. Profitability of that sector ranked 21st, and 10.1% below the average.